LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF 
CALIFORNIA 
SANTA  CRUZ 


MARCUS  KING, 

MORMON 


By  NEPHI  ANDERSON, 

Author  of  "Added  Upon,"  "The 
Caftle  Builder,"  Etc. 


Salt  Lake  City,  Utah 

THE  DESERET  NEWS, 

PUBLISHERS 

1908 


S 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 


CHAPTER  1. 

Joy  and  sorrow,  hope  and  fear,  mingled  their  con- 
flicting emotions  in  the  breast  of  the  Reverend  Marcus 
King.  He  had  sat  by  his  writing  table  all  the  afternoon; 
yet  not  even  the  outlines  of  his  Sunday  sermon  were 
drawn.  The  sun  went  down,  and  the  pink  in  the  western 
sky  turned  to  a  fiery  red,  which  streamed  in  at  the  large, 
open  window  and  flooded  the  room  with  its  warm  color. 
The  pale,  nearly  haggard  face  of  the  young  man  sitting 
with  his  chair  turned  to  the  light,  was  bathed  in  the  soft 
glow. 

Marcus  King  had  reached  a  turning  in  his  journey  of 
life.  That  journey  had  been,  up  to  the  present,  one  of 
ease,  having  led  him  by  gentle  curves  and  grades  into 
pleasant  places.  But  now  the  end  of  it  seemed  near; 
whichever  way  he  turned,  a  difficulty  of  some  kind  faced 
him. 

It  had  come  about  in  this  way:  One  day,  as  Mr. 
King  was  sitting  in  his  study  looking  up  matter  for  a  ser- 
mon, he  admitted  a  man  who  was  canvassing  the  town 
with  religious  tracts  and  books.  Mr.  King  made  it  a  rule 
to  entertain  all  such  who  came  to  him.  "If  they  have  a 


4  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

truth  to  give  me,"  said  he,  "why  God  be  praised  for  that; 
and  if  they  have  not,  there  is  no  harm  done." 

The  man  who  called  on  him  that  day  was  a  rare 
"find,"  as  he  proved  to  be  a  Mormon, — a  real,  live 
Mormon  such  as  he  had  read  about,  a  Mormon  missionary 
come  prepared  with  tracts  and  books  to  present  his  doc- 
trine to  all  who  would  listen.  The  missionary  found  Mr. 
King  a  wonderful  exception  to  the  usual  minister  of  the 
Gospel.  This  minister  had  listened  attentively  to  his 
message,  hzd  asked  numerous  questions,  and  at  last  had 
invited  the  "Mormon"  to  call  again.  This  was  the  begin- 
ning. Many  and  long  were  the  talks  these  two  men  had 
after  that,  until  it  was  well  known  by  the  people  of 
Hungerton  that  the  Reverend  Marcus  King  had  the  con- 
version of  a  Mormon  missionary  in  charge.  Little  did 
they  dream  of  the  true  state  of  things.  Little  did  they 
think  that  it  was  the  minister  that  had  been  brought  face 
to  face  with  a  great  truth, — one  that  he  could  not  reason 
away,  try  as  he  would;  a  mighty  truth  that  stood  before 
him  at  all  times,  close  his  eyes  as  he  would;  a  truth  that 
he  could  not  simply  accept  and  engraft  into  his  own  relig- 
ion; but  a  truth  so  far-reaching  and  powerful  that  it 
seemed  to  overturn  his  own  and  strip  him  of  every  vest- 
ige of  divine  authority  as  a  servant  of  God  and  a  minister 
of  his  word.  In  short,  that  is  the  reason  why  joy  and 
sorrow,  hope  and  fear  mingled  in  conflicting  chaos  in  his 
breast  that  afternoon,  when  bis  work  was  neglected,  and 
tomorrow  was  the  Sabbath.  Joy  was  there  because  he  had 
found  a  great  truth;  sorrow,  because  of  his  overturned 
idols;  hope,  for  his  soul's  future  salvation;  fear,  because 
of  the  opinions  of  those  who  were  dear  to  him,  and  whose 
lives  were  intimately  connected  with  his  own. 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  5 

The  brightness  faded  out  of  the  sky,  but  how  deep 
and  unfathomable  was  the  blue  that  came  in  its  place 
behind  the  elms  in  the  garden!  The  cool  evening  breeze 
swept  through  the  window,  and  Marcus  leaned  back  in  his 
chair  to  enjoy  it.  An  open  book  lay  on  the  window  sill, 
and  at  the  sound  of  approaching  footsteps,  he  hurriedly 
closed  it  and  placed  it  in  a  drawer;  but  no  one  came  in, 
and  he  leaned  his  head  again  on  the  cushions  of  his  chair 
and  gazed  out  at  the  sky. 

He  had  been  a  minister  of  the  Gospel  scarcely  a  year, 
a  short  year  it  now  seemed  to  him,  filled  with  many  var- 
ied and  pleasant  experiences.  First,  four  years  at  col- 
lege. Ah,  those  were  happy  years!  Then  the  final  prep- 
aration for  the  ministry  which  his  father  so  fondly  hoped 
he  would  follow.  It  was  the  one  wish  of  his  that  his  son 
should  take  his  place  as  pastor  over  the  flock  at  Hunger- 
ton,  and  now  at  the  early  age  of  twenty-five  he  had  occu- 
pied his  father's  place  for  nearly  a  year.  The  chair  he 
sat  in  had  belonged  to  his  father,  the  writing  table  had 
been  his  father's  work  bench  for  nearly  twenty  years. 
The  fine  library,  covering  nearly  two  walls  of  the  room, 
was  his  father's  cellecting;  and  there  above  him  on  the 
wall  hung  his  portrait,  looking  down  upon  him  with  a 
smile.  What  would  he  say,  what  would  he  think  of  his 
son,  could  he  know  the  thoughts  that  coursed  sometimes 
like  fiery  steeds  through  his  brain?  What  would  the 
young  man  give  to  be  able  to  talk  to  his  father  about 
these  matters,  to  get  counsel  from  him! 

After  all,  the  religion  that  was  good  enough  for  his 
father  ought  to  be  good  enough  for  him.  What  had 
saved  his  father  ought  certainly  to  save  him.  But  then, 
but  then,  that  was  not  the  point.  Would  his  father  not 


6  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

have  accepted  this  truth  had  he  been  given  the  chance? 
Should  not  truth  be  accepted  anyhow,  no  matter  when,  or 
where,  or  from  whom  it  came?  In  former  days  the  con- 
demnation was  that  light  had  come  into  the  world,  and 
men  would  not  receive  it.  Was  it  not  the  same  today, 
yes,  in  all  ages  of  the  world? 

It  was  at  this  point  of  his  reflections  that  Marcus 
King's  most  inner  conscience  brought  to  his  understand- 
ing the  fact  that  he  had  received  an  answer  to  his 
prayers.  Much  of  the  theology  he  had  learned  at  college 
and  that  which  he  was  supposed  to  teach,  was  dim  and  of 
doubtful  meaning.  He  had  always  wished  to  understand 
some  of  those  dogmas  which  he  could  not  unreservedly 
accept.  He  saw  now  that  doubt,  peace  destroying  doubt? 
had  been  creeping  silently  into  his  soul,  and  to  be  per- 
fectly honest  with  himself,  he  could  now  no  longer  close 
his  eyes  to  the  fact.  This  new  light  had  thrown  its 
searching  rays  into  recesses  of  his  soul  that  hitherto  had 
been  unseen,  and  he  could  deceive  himself  no  longer  as  to 
Hs  true  standing.  He  had  been  asking  for  light,  and  God 
had  sent  it  to  him.  Now  he  must  not  reject  it. 

Marcus  must  have  fallen  asleep  in  the  quiet  twilight, 
for  the  tired  brain  ceased  its  work,  and  when  he  regained 
consciousness,  he  heard  the  soft  music  of  the  piano  in  the 
adjoining  room.  The  door  was  open  and  the  strains  floated 
in  to  him. 

The  melody  was  a  familiar  one,  and  he  knew  by  it 
whose  fingers  so  lightly  touched  the  keys.  Presently  the 
music  ceased,  and  there  appeared  in  the  open  doorway 
the  figure  of  a  young  woman.  She  was  dressed  in  white, 
and  held  a  bunch  of  great  red  roses  in  her  hand. 

"Am  I  trespassing?"  she  asked. 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  7 

"What  a  question,  Alice!     Come  in." 
She  entered  the  room  and  took  a  seat  by  the  window. 
He  drew  his  chair  up  close  to  her,  pinched  her  chin,  and 
then  kissed  her. 

"Your  cheeks  are  full  of  roses,  tonight,"  said  he. 
"Oh,  I'm  always  out  in  the  garden  since  the  roses 
came.     Environment,  you  know." 

'  'It  is  getting  dark.  I  must  have  had  a  nap  just  be- 
fore you  came." 

"Shall  I  light  the  lamp?1' 

"No,  don't.  Can  there  be  anything  more  beautiful 
than  this?" 

They  moved  their  chairs  closer  to  the  window.  There 
was  still  a  faint  blush  in  the  west,  and  here  and  there 
through  the  trees  twinkled  the  first  stars  of  the  night. 
Neither  was  very  talkative,  and  they  sat  for  some 
time  looking  at  the  sky. 

"Alice,"  said  he — they  were  close  together!  and  he 
did  not  need  to  speak  loudly — "you're  a  pretty  good 
critic.  What  do  you  think  of  this  little — well,  parable, 
I  call  it?  I  thought  of  using  it  in  illustrating  a  point 
tomorrow." 

"Tell  it  to  me,"  she  said.  "Go  on,  I  am  listen- 
ing." 

"A  certain  man  had  a  beautiful  pleasure  boat,  which 
he  launched  on  the  placid  waters  of  a  small  lake,"  began 
Marcus.  "With  him  in  this  boat  he  took  all  his  relatives 
and  a  great  many  of  his  friends.  They  had  with  them 
also  everything  in  the  way  of  convenience  and  comfort, 
and  life  with  them  was  very  pleasant  indeed;  for,  strange 
to  say,  all  this  little  company  thought  that  the  little  lake 


8  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

on  which  they  sailed  back  and  forth  was  the  only  water  in 
the  world. 

"But  one  day  a  man  came  to  the  master  of  the  ves- 
sel and  told  him  that  he  and  all  his  company  were  de- 
ceived, and  that  the  lake  they  were  on  was  but  a  very 
small  part  of  the  water  of  the  earth;  that  at  considerable 
distance  from  them  was  the  mighty  ocean,  teeming  with 
wonders,  whose  boundless  shores  were  lined  with  peoples 
and  cities  never  heard  of  by  them.  This  stranger  took 
the  master  and  showed  him  a  narrow  passage  which  led 
out  of  the  lake;  as  the  master  looked  he  saw  that  it  was 
filled  with  rocks,  and  that  at  places  the  current  was 
strong  and  dangerous.  The  stranger  also  examined  the 
vessel,  pointing  out  many  weak  places  in  it,  and  advised 
the  master  that  if  he  ever  contemplated  leaving  the  mill- 
pond,  as  he  called  it,  he  should  get  a  stronger  vessel  in 
which  to  make  the  journey. 

"Now  all-  this  had  its  effect  on  the  master.  He  saw 
the  littleness  of  his  and  his  friends'  outlook,  and  he 
longed  for  the  greater  knowledge  of  the  vast  ocean.  But 
there  were  the  waves  and  the  rocks  and  the  narrow  chan- 
nel. He  doubted  very  much  whether  his  friends  would 
believe  in  the  stranger's  words  to  the  extent  of  following 
them.  The  lake  was  small,  but  it  was  always  still,  and 
even  if  the  vessel  was  deficient  in  parts,outwardly  it  looked 
secure,  and  would,  no  doubt,  carry  them  as  long  as  was 
necessary. 

"And  so  the  master  pondered  much  on  the  matter, 
until — well,  until  his  lady  love  came  to  him  and  he  pro- 
pounded the  question  to  her  of  what  he  should  do." 

"And  further,  until  his  mother  came  and   called  him 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  9 

to  dinner,"  said  Alice,  as  she  saw  Mrs.  King  appearing  in 
the  doorway  with  a  lamp  in  her  hand. 

"Excuse  me,  folks,  but  dinner  is  ready,"  said  Mrs. 
King. 

"Yes,  mother,  we're  coming.  Let  me  close  the 
window,  Alice;  I  feel  chilly." 

*  'Marcus,"  said  the  mother  at  the  table,  "you  are 
studying  too  hard  of  late.  You  look  quite  haggard  to- 
night. Don't  you  think  so,  Alice?" 

'  'I  cartainly  do.     He  acts  so  strangely,  too. " 

"Oh,  now,  don't  you  folks  worry  about  me.  My  va- 
cation next  month  will  bring  me  around  again,  won't  it, 
Alice?"  But  Alice  said  nothing.  He  had  reference  to  the 
little  journey  which  they  were  to  take  after  their  mar- 
riage. 

After  they  had  arisen  from  the  table,  Alice  explained 
to  Marcus  that  she  had  been  sent  to  get  him  to  visit  one 
of  his  congregation  who  was  in  trouble. 

"Yes,"  said  he,  "we'll  go  together.  Alice  Merton, 
you  ought  to  be  the  shepherd  of  this  flock  instead  of  me. 
Come,  put  on  your  wraps." 

The  streets  of  Hungerton  were  full  of  people  enjoy- 
ing the  beautiful  evening.  The  gas  lamps  flickered  dimly 
in  the  bright  moonlight. 

"What  do  you  think  of  my  parable?''  he  asked. 

"I  don't  understand  it,"  she  answered. 

"No,  it  is  not  a  good  one.  There  are  better  in  St. 
Matthew,  especially  the  one  about  the  merchant  finding  a 
pearl  of  great  price,  and  selling  all  he  had  that  he  might 
buy  it.  But  whom  are  we  going  to  see,  Alice?" 

"Henry  Sandforcl.     He's  now  in  jail." 

"What?    What' spoor  Henry  done  now?" 


10  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

"He  has  been  raving  again,  and  last  night  he  tried 
to  kill  the  whole  family,  himself  included.  It's  a  pitiable 
case,  and  some  thought  you  ought  to  talk  with  him.  You 
might  do  him  some  good." 

"Poor  man!"  was  all  Marcus  said. 

The  jailor  met  them  on  the  courthouse  steps,  and 
knowing  their'errand,  he  immediately  led  the  way  with  his 
lantern.  Into  the  basement  and  along  a  corridor  they 
went  to  where  the  man  was  confined.  The  jailor  unlocked 
the  door,  and  they  all  went  in.  By  the  light  of  the  lan- 
tern they  saw  a  man  sitting  on  a  bed  in  the  corner  of  the 
cell.  His  hands  were  fettered.  He  raised  his  head  as 
they  entered.  He  was  a  well-dressed,  seemingly  intelligent 
man  of  about  fifty. 

"Good  evening,  Henry,"  said  the  minister,  advancing 
to  him. 

"Good  evening,  Mr.  King,'*  was  the  calm  reply.  "If 
the  good  jailor  will  take  these  pieces  of  iron  from  my 
wrists  I  will  shake  hands  with  you." 

Marcus  looked  inquiringly  at  the  jailor,  who  shook 
his  head  and  said:  "Couldn't  do  it,  sir.  He's  all  right 
now,  no  doubt,  but  there's  no  telling  when  he  might  be- 
come wild  again." 

The  jailor  found  a  seat  for  Alice,  set  the  lantern  on 
a  table,  and  then  left,  saying  that  he  would  be  close  at 
hand  in  case  he  was  needed.  Marcus  sat  down  on  the 
bedside. 

"My  poor  friend  Henry,  so  you  are  in  trouble  again," 
said  the  minister.  "Can  I  do  anything  for  you?  What 
seems  to  be  the  difficulty  this  time?" 

"Mr.  King,"  said  the  man,  "I'm  pleased  to  see  you; 
but  it's  too  bad  that  you  and  Miss  Merton  should  have  to 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  11 

visit  such  a  place  as  this— there,  I  know  you  will  say  that 
it  is  all  right,  but  it  isn't  for  all  that.  You've  no  business 
§here,  I've  no  b  isiness  here.  You  ought  to  be  whirling  in 
the  pleasures  of  life,  and  I  ought  to  be  dead.  This  cell  is  too 
good  for  me.  The  grave  is  my  place,  and  hell  is  my 
home,  my  natural  home,  sir.  In  the  eternal  fitness  of 
things  I  was  meant  to  dwell  there.  The  great  God  who 
created  me,  who  made  the  universe  out  of  nothing,  sir, 
has  a  right  to  say  where  I  belong.  Hell  is  my  natural 
abode,  and  Satan  is  my  master;  and  it's  all  for  the 
pleasure  of  God  and  the  manifestation  of  His  glory.'' 

The  two  shuddered  at  his  words. 

"My  dear  friend,  you  are  mistaken,"  said  Marcus. 
"God  is  not  such  a  being  as  you  imagine.  'God  is  love/ 
Think  of  what  that  means.  He  is  not  willing  that  any 
should  perish,  but  that  all  should  come  to  repentance." 

"Repentance,  did  you  say?  What  does  that  mean  to 
me?  To  you  and  your  fair  lady  it  may  mean  something, 
but  to  me  it  has  no  significance.  Listen,  sir,  listen: 'By 
the  decree  of  God,  for  the  manifestation  of  His  glory, 
some  men  and  angels  are  predestinated  unto  everlasting 
life,  and  others  fore- ordained  to  everlasting  death.'  I  am 
one  of  the  latter." 

"No,  friend,  you  are  not." 

"I  tell  you  I  am.  How  do  you  know  I  am  not?  How 
can  anyone  know  but  one's  self?  I  tell  you  I  am  one  of 
the  damned,  and  I  can't  help  myself.  And  I'll  tell  you 
another  thing,  friend  King,  and  you  can  preach  it  tomor- 
row: This  heritage  of  mine  I  have  transmitted  to  my  chil- 
dren. They  are  also  heirs  of  damnation  and  non-elect 
children;  and  should  they  live  and  beget  children,  this 
heritage  will  also  go  to  them.  But  I'll  stop  it  all,  sir;  I'll 


12  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

put  an  end  to  it.  I  and  mine  shall  perish  off  the  face  of 
the  earth,and  we'll  see  whether  the  number  of  the  damned 
can  neither  be  increased  nor  diminished!" 

"Let  us  go,  Marcus,"  said  Alice,  "I  can  stand  it  no 
longer." 

"He  is  raving  mad.  We  can  do  no  good.  I  am  too 
late,  too  late!"  and  there  was  a  tremble  in  Marcus'  voice 
as  he  said  it. 

From  the  jail  they  went  to  the  unfortunate  man's 
family.  The  wife  was  in  the  greatest  distress.  She  told 
them  how  her  husband  had  brooded  for  a  long  time  on 
religious  questions,  and  how  at  last  he  had  used  violence 
against  them.  "Last  night  was  the  worst,"  she  said. 
"When  he  came  home  from  work,  he  would  have  no  sup- 
per, but  sat  glaring  like  a  madman  at  us  all.  Suddenly, 
he  sprang  to  his  feet,  grasped  the  bread  knife,  and 
shouted,  Til  begin  with  the  youngest!'  and  made  a  dash 
for  the  baby.  In  the  tumult  which  followed,  the  neigh- 
bors came  in,  and  he  was  prevented  from  doing  any  seri- 
ous harm;  but  it  was  all  so  awful!" 

Marcus  could  say  but  little,  either  to  the  distracted 
mother  or  to  Alice  as  they  walked  home  that  night.  The 
only  remark  about  Henry  Sanford  was,  that  he  had  found 
a  rotten  plank  in  the  imaginative  pleasure  boat,  and  not 
knowing  how  to  avert  the  expected  disaster,  it  had  turned 
his  mind;  but  Alice  failed  to  get  the  meaning  of  the  fig- 
ure, as  she  had  that  of  the  parable. 

The  night  following  the  visit  to  the  jail  was  passed 
restlessly  by  Marcus  King.  He  was  up  with  the  first 
gray  light  in  the  east,  and  out  in  the  woods  above  the 
town  of  Hungerton.  He  loved  the  freedom  and  quiet  of 
the  forest,  besides  it  was  better  than  to  muse  in  the 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMOM.  13 

close  library  at  home.  It  would  not  do  to  undermine  his 
health.  With  loss  of  bodily  strength  might  come  weak- 
ness of  spiritual  power,  and  he  might  be  called  upon  any 
day  now  to  exercise  that  to  its  ntmost  capacity.  The 
inevitable  was  before  him.  He  was  sure  of  that.  He 
would  have  to  resign  his  pastorate,  and  that  at  no  distant 
day;  but  if  he  would  have  the  power  to  sell  all  he  had  for 
the  pearl  he  had  found,  why,  that  was  a  thing  God  only 
knew. 

The  birds  know  the  value  of  the  morning.  Then  they 
are  always  out  in  full  force,  and  that  morning  they 
greeted  the  early  visitor  with  a  wild  chorus  of  melody; 
and  Marcits  envied  the  happy  little  hearts,  so  free  from 
care  and  responsibility.  Seated  at  last  on  a  mossy  rock, 
Marcus  watched  the  sun  come  up.  Was  his  own  sun  ris- 
ing or  setting?  Then  he  thought  of  his  friend  Henry 
Sanford,  confined  in  a  dismal  cell,  his  limbs  bound  with 
fetters;  worst  of  all,  he  was  deprived  of  that  most  pre- 
cious of  gifts,  his  reason.  What  had  brought  him  to  such 
a  state?  Reasoning  on  religion,  his  own  religion,  the 
religion  which  he  had  been  expounding  to  his  congrega- 
tion Sabbath  after  Sabbath.  The  demented  man  had 
repeated  one  of  the  articles  of  the  Westminster  Confes- 
sion, which  was  their  articles  of  faith  and  rule  of  prac- 
tice. Some  men  were  predestined  to  everlasting  life, 
and  others  to  everlasting  death,  "and  their  number  is  so 
certain  and  definite  that  it  cannot  be  either  increased  or 
diminished."  If  that  be  true,  why  preach  any  longer? 
Of  what  use  were  efforts  to  bring  souls  unto  Christ?  The 
whole  number  one  way  or  the  other  had  been  irrevocably 
fixed.  It  was  the  height  of  folly  for  him  or  any  other 
preacher  to  try  to  overturn  the  unalterable  decree  of  the 


14  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

Almighty.  There  was  much  reason  in  Henry  Sanford's 
unreasonable  mind. 

It  was  an  abominable  doctrine,  and  who  could  tell 
what  misery  and  pain  of  spirit  it  had  brought  to  the 
human  race!  Henry  Sanford  was  an  example,  and  was 
not  he,  Marcus  King  the  preacher,  answerable  in  part  for 
his  condition? 

Marcus  climbed  further  up  the  hill,  and  from  a  clear- 
ing in  the  forest  he  saw  the  town  at  his  feet.  It  was  a 
beautiful  place,  and  not  the  least  fair  was  his  own  home 
and  the  church  wherein  he  was  to  preach  that  very  day. 
The  vines  had  climbed  up  over  the  windows,  protecting 
them  from  the  hot  summer  sun.  The  flower  beds  in  the 
lawn  at  the  side  of  the  church  showed  the  skill  of  the 
gardener  in  the  diamonds  and  circles  and  crosses.  The 
broad,  slow-flowing  river  half  encircled  the  town  and  then 
disappeared  behind  the  green  hills. 

And  here  he  was,  the  Reverend  Marcus  King,  think- 
ing seriously  of  forsaking  all  this  and  becoming  a  Mor- 
mon. Think  of  it,  a  Mormon!  One  of  a  despised,  hated 
and  ridiculed  sect-  Was  it  worth  it?  And  there  was 
Alice,  Alice  who  loved  him,  and  whom  he  loved.  But  she 
was  a  good,  pure,  sensible  girl.  He  would  explain  it  all  to 
her,  and  she  would  not  forsake  him.  They  were  to  be 
married  next  month.  With  her  as  his  wife,  the  passage 
through  the  rocky  channel  could  be  borne.  If  all  others 
forsook  him,  surely  she  would  not.  Thus  he  reasoned 
until  the  church  bells  rang  up  from  below  and  called  him 
back  to  the  present.  Once  more  he  would  preach.  One 
Sabbath  more  he  would  parform  his  accustomed  duty,  and 
that  would  be  the  end.  So  he  walked  home  with  that 
purpose  fixed. 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  15 


CHAPTER    2. 

The  Mormon  missionary,  Elder  James,  continued  to 
be  a  frequent  visitor  at  the  home  of  the  Reverend  Marcus 
King.  An  intimate  friendship  had  grown  up  between 
them,  and  they  already  treated  each  other  as  brothers. 
Elder  James  was  a  plain,  simple  man,  a  little  older  than 
Marcus,  not  learned  in  the  schools,  but  thoroughly  con- 
versant with  the  scriptures.  His  language  was  often 
faulty,  when  measured  by  the  rules  of  grammar.  His 
coat  was  not  strictly  of  the  ministerial  cut;  and  alto- 
gether his  manner  was  awkward  and  smattered  consider- 
ably of  the  backwoods. 

One  evening  during  the  week  following  the  Sunday 
last  mentioned,  Elder  James  was  at  the  clergyman's  resi- 
dence. They  had  been  considering  some  Gospel  subjects, 
and  the  missionary  had  been  relating  some  of  his  exper- 
iences on  the  wild  plains  of  the  West. 

"Mr.  King,"  said  the  Elder,  "you  may  wonder  why 
such  an  uneducated,  unpolished  man  as  I  should  be  sent 
out  to  preach  the  Gospel;  but  the  truth  is  that  we  all  go 
as  the  call  finds  us,  both  the  learned  and  the  unlearned— 
I  mean  in  regard  to  worldly  wisdom.  As  for  me,  I  have 
had  very  little  chance  for  schooling.  You  know  some  of 
our  history  in  Ohio,  Missouri,  and  Illinois.  I,  with  my  par- 
ents, have  been  through  it  all,  and  you  can  understand  what 
chances  I  could  have  amid  continuous  mobbings  and  driv- 
ings and  confusion;  and  then,  the  last  few  years  have 
been  spent  in  the  heart  of  the  great  American  desert, 
trying  to  force  bread  from  a  barren  waste.  My  face  is 
yet  tanned  from  exposure,  and  my  hands  have  not  yet  lost 


16  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

their  callousness.  But  for  all  that,  my  friend,  we  have 
the  pure  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  what  is  more,  divine 
authority  to  teach  it." 

"I  say  amen  to  that,"  replied  Marcus.  He  went  to 
the  table,  and  picking  up  a  small  volume,  opened  it  and 
said:  k  'Would  you  like  to  know  what  I  had  to  do  to  become 
a  minister?  what  all  who  preach  in  our  church  must  do, 
before  they  can  become  ministers?  Well,  here  it  is,  stated 
plainly  in  our  rules  of  discipline.  First,  we  must  be  grad- 
uates of  some  college;  second,  take  a  two  years'  course  in 
divinity;  then  pass  a  critical  examination;  and  at  last  be 
taken  for  a  time  on  trial;  and  all  this,  because  as  it  here 
reads,  it  is  highly  reproachful  to  religion,  and  dangerous 
to  the  church  to  entrust  the  ministry  to  weak  and  ignor- 
ant man/  What  do  you  think  of  that?" 

*  'I  think  that  'God  hath  chosen  the  foolish  things  of 
the  earth  to  confound  the  wise,'  even  as  he  did  in  days  of 
old  when  he  called  simple  fishermen  directly  from  their 
nets  to  be  ministers  of  the  Gospel.  Mind  you,  I  do  not 
depreciate  an  education.  A  scholarly  man,  if  he  would 
let  God  use  him,  would  certainly  be  a  shining  shaft  in 
God's  hand;  but  it  has  been  the  experience  of  all  time  that 
the  Almighty  has  worked  with  the  weak  things  of  the 
world.  They  are  more  pliable  in  his  hand.  Not  that  the 
servants  of  the  Lord  will  always  remain  weak,  though  they 
must  remain  humble. 

"To  change  the  subject,"  said  Marcus,  "how  would 
you  like  to  preach  in  the  church  next  Sunday?" 

"I  would  like  nothing  better,  providing  it  is  with 
everybody's  consent." 

•'Well,  I  don't  know  about  that.  I  would  have  to 
take  the  responsibility.  I  am  going  to  resign.  I  can't 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  17 

stand  this  double  dealing  any  longer;  but  I  would  like  to 
hear  you  explain  your  principles  in  your  simple  way  to  my 
congregation,  preach  a  sermon  like  the  one  you  gave  at 
the  school  house  in  Willow  the  other  evening.  How  would 
it  do,  if,  after  I  make  my  explanations  and  reasons  for  my 
action,  I  call  upon  you  to  explain  the  first  principles?" 

"No;  it  would  be  taking  undue  advantage  of  the  peo- 
ple. We  have  had  meetings  here  in  your  town,  we  have 
distributed  tracts  to  every  house  that  would  receive  one. 
We  have  given  them  every  opportunity.  Your  plan  would 
only  bring  on  opposition." 

"Yes;  I  ran  see  it.  I  had,  friend  James,  made  up 
my  mind  to  preach  no  more,  but  I  must  give  my  reasons 
for  resigning,  anc1  I'm  going  to  do  it  next  Sunday." 

"You  have  considered  well  the  step  you  are  taking? 
You  know  the  consequences?" 

"Yes,  to  both  your  questions.  I  have  been  three 
months  now  thinking  about  it.  I  am  going  to  test  your 
promise.  'For  what  shall  it  profit  a  man,  if  he  shall  gain 
the  whole  world,  and  lose  his  own  soul?'  As  for  the  con- 
sequence, I  know  my  act  will  make  a  sensation,  but  I 
cannot  help  that.  I  must  follow  the  light  as  God  reveals 
it  to  me.  God  must  help  me  in  the  result.  Brother, 
pray  for  me  that  I  may  have  strength  to  go  through  the 
ordeal." 

Could  Marcus  King  have  taken  two  others  with  him, 
he  would  cheerfully  have  faced  the  world.  One  of  these 
was  his  mother  and  the  other  was  Alice  Merton.  He  had 
carefully  introduced  the  new  doctrines  to  them  both, 
placing  tracts  and  books  in  their  hands  to  read;  but  usually 
they  had  treated  them  as  trifling  things  not  to  be  taken 
seriously.  His  mother  had  received  the  Mormon  Elder 


18  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

kindly  at  first,  but  when  his  visits  continued  and  Marcus 
had  him  to  dinner  nearly  every  day,  she  had  objected. 

"I  don't  want  him  here,''  she  had  said  with  some 
warmth.  "It  is  the  talk  of  the  town  already,  that  you, 
Marcus,  who  should  be  a  defender  of  the  people  against 
impostors  and  wicked  men,  take  into  your  very  home  a 
member  of  the  vile  Mormon  sect.  What  is  it  coming  to? 
Are  w 3  to  be  disgraced?  Has  he  won.  you  over  to  his  per- 
nicious faith?'' 

Marcus  had  tried  to  explain  matters,  but  when  she 
found  that  he  was  actually  in  sympathy  with  the  Mormon, 
and  that  he  defended  him,  she  had  been  overcome 
with  emotion.  The  same  scene  had  been  repeated  again 
and  again  until  Marcus  plainly  saw  that  further  reasonings 
would  be  useless. 

As  for  Alice  Merton,  Marcus  loved  her  as  he  had 
loved  no  other  woman,  but  he  had  decided  what  to  choose 
between  love  and  duty.  '  'Seek  ye  first  the  kingdom  of 
God  and  his  righteousness,  and  all  these  things  shall  be 
added  unto  you,"  was  a  promise  which  he  meant  to  prove. 
He  had  not  talked  much  with  her  on  his  changed  views; 
and  she,  seemingly,  did  not  get  any  meaning  from  the 
little  figures  of  speech  which  he  had  used.  She  had  partly 
assented  to  some  of  the  views  expressed  in  the  pamphlets 
he  had  given  her,  but  the  fact  that  they  had  come  from  a 
source  so '  'foul  as  Mormonism' '  was  enough  to  make  them 
of  no  consequence. 

One  day  when  they  had  been  out  sailing  on  the  river, 
he  had  asked  her  if  she  would  have  loved  him  just  the 
same  had  he  not  been  a  preacher,  but  just  a  common 
laborer,  say,  for  example,  a  mason  or  a  farmer.  She  had 
laughed  heartily  at  the  question,  and  had  taken  her 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  19 

sailor  hat  and  had  fanned  his  red  face.  He  had  pressed 
her  for  an  answer,  and  she  had  said,  how  could  she  know. 
Then,  doubtless,  they  never  would  have  met. 

"But  suppose  I  should  now  resign  my  pastorate  and 
turn  farmer,  a  real  farmer  I  mean,  to  wear  overalls  and 
work  in  the  fields,  would  you  marry  me  next  month  as 
you  have  promised?"  He  had  not  smiled,  but  seemed  to 
mean  what  he  said,  and  the  tears  had  come  into  the  blue 
eyes  of  Alice. 

"You  are  cruel,"  she  had  said, 

"Forgive  me  if  you  think  so,  Alice;  but  I  ask  you 
the  question  in  all  earnestness.  It  may  come  to  that  yet. 
We  know  not  what  life  has  before  us.  My  Alice  loves 
me  and  will  be  mine,  whatever  befalls,  will  she  not?" 
And  she  had  yielded  her  head  into  his  arm,  and  had  whis- 
pered "Yes." 

On  Friday  afternoon  Marcus  had  finished  the  outlines 
of  what  he  should  say  the  next  Sabbath.  He  could  not 
bring  himself  to  write  it  out  in  full.  He  had  thought  to 
speak  to  various  leading  members  of  his  congregation 
about  the  step  he  was  to  take,  so  that  it  would  not  be 
such  a  surprise;  but  that  might  bring  on  an  opposition 
that  would  prevent  him  from  saying  anything,  and  he 
wanted  to  make  the  explanation  to  the  whole  congrega- 
tion. So  he  said  not  a  word,  not  even  to  his  brethren  in 
the  church. 

That  Friday  evening  he  called  on  Alice.  The  time 
was  opportune.  Mr.  Merton  was  away  on  business,  and 
Mrs.  Merton  had  retired  with  a  headache.  They  would 
be  alone,  and  Marcus  could  speak  the  plain  truth  undis- 
turbed. Alice  looked  her  best.  The  dress  of  soft  white, 
the  roses  in  her  bosom  and  hair,  the  quiet,  saddened 


20  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

smile  on  the  fair  face — all  this  beauty  went  to  Marcus 
with  a  force  that  made  his  heart  throb  *ith  pain. 

Marcus  could  not  hide  his  emotion,  try  as  he  would. 

"What  is  the  matter?"  she  asked,  as  he  took  her 
hands.  They  sat  on  the  sofa,  and  he  looked  into  her  face 
for  a  long  time.  Then  he  said: 

"Alice,  I  am  going  to  resign  my  pastorate  next  Sun- 
day." 

She  said  nothing,  but  her  hands  trembled. 

'  'I  am  going  to  be  plain  Mr.  King.  Will  that  make 
any  difference  in  your  love?" 

"No;  if  that  is  all.  I  will  love  Farmer  Marcus  King 
the  same  as  the  Reverend  Marcus  King.  My  word  and 
promise  is  the  same." 

"But,  darling,  you  suspect  more  than  that.  You  can 
guess  by  this  time  why  I  am  compelled  to  resign. '' 

"What  should  I  know?    You  have  never  told  me." 

"I  have  found  that  my  position  is  a  false  one.  My 
authority  as  a  servant  of  God  is  an  assumed  one;  the  doc- 
trines I  have  been  teaching,  that  is  some  of  them,  are  not 
true.  God  has  opened  my  eyes  to  a  greater  light,  and 
Alice,  my  darling,  I  am  compelled  to  accept  that," 

"And  that  light  is  Mormonism?"  said  Alice,  whose 
face  was  ashen  gray. 

"Yes;  it  is  known  by  that  name,  but  in  truth,  it  is 
the  pure  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ.  Listen,  Alice,  oh,  listen 
tome," — she  had  turned  away  her  head— "do  not  con- 
demn me;  do  not  reject  the  light.  We  will  pray  God 
together.  He  will  open  your  eyes  as  He  has  mine.  We 
will  begin  our  new  life  together,  stand  by  each  other 
through  the  trials  that  will  come.  0,  Alice,  you  cannot 
conceive  of  the  beauty  and  the  grandeur  this  new  light 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  21 

has  opened  up  to  me,  will  open  up  to  you,  my  darling. 
You  may  not  fully  understand  it  now,  but  you  will — Alice, 
I  cannot  go  out  in  the  cold  world  without  you." 

She  did  not  cry  out,  she  did  not  weep;  her  love  had 
changed  to  fierce  resentfulness;  her  tears  had  turned  to 
ice. 

'  'Ah,  yes;  I  see  it  all  now;  you  are  going  to  join  the 
Mormons." 

"I  know  that  is  a  harsh  and  evil-sounding  word,  but 
if  you  could  only  understand  the  truth,  Alice,  it  would 
lose  that  aspect." 

''I  hate  the  word,  Marcus.  The  brand  of  the  devil 
clings  to  it.  I  shrink  from  it  as  I  do  from  perdition.  Do 
not  name  it  again!" 

Then  is  it  all  over  between  us,  Alice?  you  love  me  no 
longer?  You  will  not  be  my  wife?" 

'  'Marcus  King,  a  Mormon,  I  cannot,  will  not  marry. 
Be  any  other  honest  thing  on  earth  and  I  will  hold  good 
my  promise.  Descend  to  the  lowest  depth  of  the  com- 
moner, be  a  farmer,  a  hod  carrier,  and  I  will  be  true  to 
you,  but — but  th'at  other — never  Marcus,  never!1' 

He  saw  that  it  was  useless.  His  hope  was  gone;  and 
yet  he  loved  her,  loved  her  more  than  ever.  They  had 
both  arisen,  and  now  they  stood  facing  each  other. 

Then  a  power  seemed  to  come  to  him,  a  power  not  of 
human  origin.  He  took  her  hands  again,  and  she  made 
no  resistance.  He  looked  steadily  into  her  eyes,  and  as 
he  gazed  they  softened.  Tears  slowly  filled  them,  and  the 
whole  marble  form  relaxed.  He  clasped  her  in  his  arms, 
and  he  was  hardly  conscious  of  what  he  said : 

"Darling,  darling,  you  are  mine,  my  very  own,  for 


22  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

time  and  for  eternity.      None  but  I  can  own  you.     Re- 
member that,  Alice,  remember  it.     You  are  mine!" 

He  kissed  her  again  and  again,  then  gently  laying 
her  on  the  sofa,  he  passed  from  theroom. 


CHAPTER  III. 

The  Rev.  Marcus  King's  congregation  was  the  larg- 
est in  the  town  of  Hungerton.  Lately  it  had  been  unusu- 
ally large,  owing,  as  some  said,  to  his  peculiar  preaching; 
so  that  Sabbath  when  he  meant  to  resign  his  position, 
Marcus  found  many  people  in  attendance. 

It  was  a  beautiful  day,  and  quite  cool.  The  church 
and  its  surroundings  looked  their  best.  The  people  smiled 
and  greeted  each  other,  and  were  happy.  Marcus  came 
in  exactly  at  the  time  to  begin.  The  usual  forms  of  song 
and  prayer  were  completed,  and  Marcus  stepped  up  to  the 
pulpit.  The  congregation  were  as  still  as  death  when 
they  saw  their  pastor  pale  and  seemingly  aged  in  a  week. 
He  had  no  Bible,  no  manuscript,  only  a  slip  of  paper  be- 
fore him.  His  voice  was  low  and  full  of  emotion,  as  he 
began  to  speak: 

'  'My  friends,  for  twenty  years  did  my  father  oc- 
cupy this  place,  and  expounded,  with  the  light  that  God 
gave  him,  the  Scriptures  of  His  word.  I  have  filled  the 
position  now  nearly  a  year,  and  I  hope  I  shall  not  be 
recreant  to  any  trust  by  the  action  I  shall  take  before 
you  this  day.  Now,  in  the  presence  of  you,  my  friends, 
I  informally  resign  my  position  as  your  spiritual  guide 
and  advisor.  Later  in  the  day  I  shall  formally  hand  my 
resignation  to  the  elders  of  the  church." 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  23 

A  hum  of  surprise  swept  through  the  congregation. 
A  load  seemed  lifted  from  the  shoulders  of  Marcus  King. 
Color  came  back  to  his  face,  and  he  spoke  again  with  a 
clear,  ringing  voice : 

"My  friends,  you  are  surprised,  of  course;  and  I  hope 
you  will  pardon  me  for  not  sparing  you  this  ordeal.  I 
wish  to  explain  to  you  why  I  have  taken  this  step,  why  I 
have  thought  it  necessary  to  divest  myself  of  the  ministe- 
rial office,  and  I  hope  you,  my  friends,  will  bear  with  me 
in  my  short  explanations.  I  will  offend  some  of  you;  but 
that  I  cannot  help.  I  have  a  position  to  defend,  I  have 
arguments  to  give,  but  I  cannot  go  into  detail  at  this 
time.  If  any  of  you  desire  further  talk  with  me  on  any 
points  I  advance  today,  I  shall  be  pleased  to  meet  you  at 
any  time. 

' 'First,  then,  I  have  come  to  this  conclusion,  that 
there  has  been  and  is  today  a  universal  apostasy  from  the 
pure  Gospel  of  Christ.  This  falling  away  reaches  to  all 
sects  and  denominations  of  the  Christian  religion,  our  own 
being  no  exception. 

"This  conclusion  has  been  arrived  at  by  carefully  con- 
sidering the  following  facts:  The  Scriptures  plainly  pre- 
dict such  a  falling  away.  Even  as  early  as  Christ's  time, 
'The  kingdom  of  heaven  suffered  violence,  and  the  violent 
took  it  by  force.'  The  early  persecutors  of  the  church 
killed  the  apostles  and  propehts,  and  none  were  appointed 
in  their  place.  The  pagans  of  Greece  and  Rome  ingrafted 
their  rites  aud  doctrines  onto  the  pure  vine.  This  actual 
change  in  the  simple  ordinances  of  the  Gospel  to  conform 
to  pagan  ceremonies  can  be  traced  historically.  Shortly 
after  the  world  was  in  spiritual  darkness  for  over  eight 
hundred  years.  As  the  Church  of  England  puts  it:  'Laity 


^4  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

and  clergy,  learned  and  unlearned,  all  ages  and  sects  and 
degrees  have  been  drowned  in  abominable  idolatry.'  The 
Reformation  of  Luther  and  Calvin  did  not  bring  back  the 
pure  Gospel  of  Jesus.  None  of  the  Reformers  claimed 
any  authority  from  heaven  to  this  effect.  They  simply 
broke  the  power  of  Rome.  The  fruits  of  all  churches  to- 
day are  not  what  they  were  in  primitive  times.  Faith 
apparently  has  lost  its  power  to  save. 

"So  much  for  a  general  statement.  Now  I  wish  to 
justify  myself  by  pointing  out  what  I  consider  errors  in 
our  own  confession  of  faith.  I  shall  take  them  in  their 
order  as  they  come  in  this  book,"  and  he  reached  out  and 
opened  a  small  volume. 

"Regarding  the  Scripture,  this  book  says:  'The 
whole  council  of  God  concerning  all  things  necessary  for 
His  own  glory,  man's  salvation,  faith  and  life,  is  either 
expressly  set  down  in  Scripture,  or  by  good  and  necessary 
consequence  may  be  deducted  from  it;  unto  which  noth- 
ing is  at  any  time  to  be  added  whether  by  new  revelation 
of  the  Spirit  or  traditions  of  men.'  This  statement  virtu- 
ally closes  the  mouth  of  God.  What  is  man  that  he 
should  dictate  to  the  Almighty? 

"I  can  no  longer  believe  that  God  is  a  being  without 
body,  parts  or  passions,  as  this  confession  teaches,  neither 
that  the  Godhead  is  'three  persons  of  one  substance,' 
because  that  is  a  contradiction  of  terms. 

"The  passage  on  predestination  is  familiar  to  you  all. 
I  shall  not  read  it.  I  believe  the  doctrine  to  be  false  in 
the  sense  here  stated.  I  have  come  to  see  that  it  is  an 
awful  thing  to  say  that  some  men  are  fore- ordained  to 
hell,  and  that  they  cannot  help  themselves.  I  do  not 
believe  that  God  takes  pleasure  in  electing  some  to  ever- 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  25 

lasting  punishment;  I  do  not  think  such  an  act 
wou^d  manifest  any  of  His  glory.  The  doctrine  annihilates 
the  agency  of  man,  and  destroys  the  divine  right  of 
choice.  My  friends,  if  you  wish  to  see  a  practical  work- 
ing of  this  teaching,  go  visit  our  dear  friend  Henry  San- 
ford,  in  Hunger! on  jail. 

"I  cannot  believe  that  God  mide  the  earth  from 
nothing.  Truth  is  reason,  and  reason  teaches  me  differ- 
ently. 

"I  do  not  now  believe  in  the  total  depravity  of  the 
human  race.  We  are  the  children  of  God.  The  offspring 
of  an  all-good  parent  cannot  be  wholly  inclined  to  evil» 
as  this  creed  teaches. 

"I  have  ceased  to  believe  in  this  book's  teachings  of 
the  calling  and  election  of  men,  and  especially  of  infants. 
Believing,  as  I  do,  that  men  have  the  freedom  to  choose 
good  or  evil,  it  naturally  follows  that  I  must  believe  that 
man  can  fall  from  grace. 

"This  confession  declares  that  baptism  is  not  necessary 
to  salvation;  still  it  claims  that  this  sacrament  is  the  door 
into  the  church.  This  is  inconsistent. 

"I  shall  read  the  passage  about  synods  and  councils: 
'All  synods  and  councils  since  the  Apostles'  time,  *  *  * 
may  have  erred;  therefore  they  are  not  to  be  made  the 
rule  of  faith  and  practice.'  I  understand  scripture  to  be 
made  when  holy  men  speak  or  write  under  the  influence 
of  the  Holy  Ghost.  We  must  come  to  one  of  two  conclu- 
sions regarding  synods  and  councils:  either  the  men  who 
composed  them  were  not  in  possession  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
or  else  this  Divine  Comforter  has  lost  its  power.  I  cannot 
believe  the  latter. 

"I  do  not  believe  in  the  literal  hell-fire  here  spoken  of. 


26  MARCUS  KL\TG,  MORMON. 

4 'Our  system  of  religion  makes  no  provisions  for  the 
salvation  of  the  heathen.  I  think  it  lacks  in  that. 

"Our  church  has  not  the  organization  of  the  first 
church,  with  Prophets,  Apostles,  etc. 

"Our  church  bars  simple  men  from  preaching  the 
Gospel.  Christ  chose  His  ministers  from  the  poor  and 
unlearned.  And  at  last,  to  put  an  end  to  this  painful  array, 
neither  I,  nor  my  fellow  ministers,  have  been  called  of 
God  as  was  Aaron,  therefore  I  have  no  authority  to  preach 
the  Gospel  and  to  administarin  its  saving  ordinances." 

At  this  point  some  members  of  the  congregation 
passed  out. 

"My  friends,  I  hope  you  will  bear  with  me  a  few  min- 
utes longer.  By  what  I  have  said,  you  may  now  think  I 
have  become  a  rank  infidel.  That  is  not  so.  I  believe  in 
the  Scriptures  and  in  the  power  of  God  to  save,  more 
than  ever.  And  now,  if  I  have  taken  away  from 
any  of  you  the  staff  which  has  supported  you,  I  wish  to 
give  you  a  stronger,  a  better  one.  I  do  not  believe  that 
a  man  should  tear  down  another's  house,  unless  he  has  a 
better  one  into  which  to  invite  him. 

'  'My  dear  friends,  I  have  found  that  which  the  mer- 
chant In  the  parable  sold  all  he  had  to  purchase.  I  am 
also  selling  all  I  own  to  secure  this  prize.  1  wish  to  tell 
you  of  it,  that  as  many  of  you  as  desire  may  also  sell  and 
buy. 

"I  bear  my  testimony  that  God  lives,  that  He  has 
again  spoken  from  the  heavens  and  restored  the  Gospel  in 
its  purity,  and  that  the  authority  to  administer  in  the  things 
of  God  has  again  been  given  to  men  in  the  flesh.  The 
Gospel  is  now  being  preached.  Its  first  principles  are 
now,  as  formerly,  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  repent- 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  27 

ance,  baptism  by  immersion  for  the  remission  of  sins,  lay- 
ing on  of  hands  for  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  true 
Church  of  Christ  has  been  again  organized,  with  Apostles, 
Prophets  and  all  the  gifts  and  blessings  which  existed  in 
the  Church  during  Christ's  and  the  Apostles'  time. " 

A  man  arose  in  the  congregation  and  asked  the  priv- 
ilege of  putting  a  question  to  the  pastor,  which  was 
granted. 

'  'This  church  you  have  been  talking  about,  Mr.  King, 
is  it  the  Mormon  Church?  Is  it  the  Mormons  you  have 
reference  to  as  receiving  this  new  revelation?" 

"Let  me  explain  that,"  began  the  preacher,  but  the 
'questioner  cut  him  short  with: 

"Can  you  not  answer  me,  yes  or  no?" 

"Yes;  I  have  reference  to  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ 
of  Latter-day  Saints,  commonly  known  .  as  the  Mormon 
Church." 

"I  have  had  enough,"  said  the  man,  with  a  wave  of 
his  hand  to  the  congregation,  half  of  whom  arose  with 
him  and  left  the  Church.  Marcus  said  not  a  word,  but 
stood  in  the  pulpit  until  the  last  one  who  had  any  desire 
to  leave  had  done  so.  Then  he  continued: 

"I  expected  nothing  else.  Had  you  stoned  me  in 
this  pulpit,  I  should  not  have  been  surprised.  We  are 
steeped  in  prejudice  against  that  about  which  evil  is 
spoken,  but  about  which  we  know  nothing.  We  are  not 
willing  to  prove  all  things  and  hold  fast  to  that  which  is 
good,  as  Paul  advised.  The  word  Mormon,  my  friend, 
has  about  the  same  sound  to  our  ears  as  the  word  Naza- 
rene  had  to  the  Jews.  But  I  wish  to  tell  you  again  be- 
fore I  close  that  Mormonism  is  the  truth.  It  will  fill  that 
void  in  your  breast;  it  will  answer  your  questions  regard- 


28  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

ing  life  and  death;  it  will  give  you  clear  conceptions  of 
God;  it  will  clear  up  many  mysteries  in  the  Scriptures;  it 
will  satisfy  your  soul;  it  will  fill  you  with  joy  unspeakable. 
I  can  say  no  more.  Investigate  for  yourselves;  seek  the 
Lord  on  the  matter.  God  bless  you  all.  Amen. — We 
shall  sing  the  doxology." 

A  very  few  sang.  Marcus  uttered  a  short  prayer, 
and  the  services  were  over.  Not  one  stopped  to  shake 
hands  with  the  minister.  One  or  two  lingered  as  if  they 
would  like  to  say  something,  but  they,  too,  walked  slowly 
away.  Marcus  gathered  a  few  books  and  walked  out. 
The  deacon  said  nothing  to  him,  but  solemnly  locked 
the  doors.  Marcus  picked  a  flower  from  a  heart-shaped 
bed  on  the  lawn,  softly  closed  the  iron  gate,  and  went 
home. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Thus  it  came  about  that  Marcus  King  got  rid  of  his 
titles  of  learning  and  supposed  divinity  and  became  plain 
Marcus  King,  Mormon;  and  to  tell  the  truth,  he  was 
heartily  glad  to  cast  off  the  burden  he  had  been  carrying 
these  many  months.  He  felt  as  might  the  fabled  Atlas, 
when  he  rolled  the  world  from  his  o#n  shoulders  on  to 
those  of  Hercules.  His  true  position  before  God  and  the 
world  was  now  clear;  and  even  if  he  stood  alone,  as  he 
had  every  reason  to  believe,  still  it  was  infinitely  better 
than  to  continue  to  play  the  hypocrite.  He  might  have 
kept  his  position,  continued  to  "teach  for  doctrine  the 
commandments  of  men"  and  kept  the  good- will  and  re- 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  29 

spect  of  his  friends,  even  though  he  did  not  believe  in 
what  he  preached,  but  that  he  could  not  do.  Others 
might  have  done  it,  many  do  it,  but  he  could  not. 

Neither  Alice  nor  his  mother  had  been  at  church  to 
hear  his  last  sermon.  His  action  had  been  a  terrible 
blow  to  both  of  them.  All  the  night  following,  his  mother 
had  paced  her  room,  and  the  efforts  of  Marcus  to  pacify 
her  acted  only  as  fuel  to  the  flame  of  anger  and  mortifi- 
cation. Early  next  morning  she  came  into  the  library 
where  Marcus  had  spent  the  night.  She  was  partially 
composed,  but  it  was  with  great  effort  that  she  spoke. 

"I  thought  that  I  had  a  son  who  would  be  an  honor  to 
his  dead  father,"  she  began;  "but  I  now  understand  dif- 
ferent. Why  have  you  brought  ignominy  on  your  par- 
ents, both  the  living  and  the  dead?" 

'  'Mother,  as  I  have  said  before,  I  have  done  nothing 
shameful — it  is  no  disgrace  to  do  one's  duty  as  God  gives 
one  the  light.  I  know  father,  and  I  think  that  he.  would 
have  done  the  same  had  he  been  in  my  position." 

"And  what  will  you  do  now?" 

"I  don't  know,  mother." 

"I  suppose  you  will  go  to  Utah?" 

"Most  likely,  though  that  is  not  definite." 

"And  how  are  you  going?" 

"Well,  mother,  if  I  go,  it  will  have  to  be  like  the 
rest  of  the  Saints,  across  the  Western  Plains  in  a  wagon 
or  cart." 

"Yes,  that's  it.  If  you  are  not  killed  by  Indians  or 
the  hardships  of  the  journey, you  will  have  to  live  a  life  of 
degradation  among  the  Mormons.  And  here  I  shall  be 
alone.  0,  Marcus,  don't  go!  Ycu  will  kill  me,  you  will 
kill  me!" 


30  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

She  broke  down  and  sobbed,  and  he  paced  back  and 
forth  by  her. 

* 'Mother,  do  not  try  to  persuade  me  to  turn  back 
now.  I  cannot  do  it.  I  tell  you  that  some  day  you  will 
see  the  need  of  this  step.  You  may  not  see  it  now,  but 
then  you  will  bless  me  for  it." 

To  this  scene  were  added  many  like  it  between  moth- 
er and  son,  until  both  saw  that  no  good  came  from  them. 

The  following  Monday,  the  wonderful  scene  in  the 
church  of  the  Rev.  Marcus  King  was  the  talk  of  the  whole 
town.  It  was  so  unexpected,  so  new,  and  so  awful  that 
a  minister  of  the  Gospel  should  from  the  pulpit  say  such 
things  against  the  church,  and  then  come  out  in  favor  of 
Mormonism!  Nothing  in  the  history  of  the  town  had  ever 
made  such  a  stir.  Groups  of  men  stood  on  the  street  cor- 
ners '  and  talked  about  it.  The  women  went  to  their 
neighbors  to  tell  and  hear.  The  clerk  forgot  his  customer 
in  his  eagerness  to  listen  to  the  story.  The  carpenter 
sat  on  his  bench,  the  blacksmith's  fire  went  out,  the 
baker's  bread  was  burned,  the  seamstress' needle  was  stuck 
in  the  dress:  Hungerton  was  all  agog. 

Marcus  did  nut  venture  out  that  day,  but  towards 
evening  he  walked  down  to  the  river,  and  followed  a  street 
leading  along  the  stream. 

A  few  people  who  recognized  him  in  the  twilight, 
stared  at  him  blankly.  On  the  outskirts  of  the  town 
Marcus  met  Elder  James,  and  together  they  walked  along 
the  country  road.  They  had  much  to  talk  about. 

"I  congratulate  you,  Mr.  King,"  said  the  elder.  "I 
heard  your  sermon  yesterday." 

"What!  were  you  there?" 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  31 

"Yes;  I  sat  in  the  farther  corner  most  of  the  time, 
and  then  got  away  without  attracting  much  notice." 

"I  think  you  had  better  remain  quiet  for  a  time.  The 
people  are  very  much  worked  up,  and  they  lay  the  blame 
on  you,  you  know." 

"I  think  I  shall  leave  town  tomorrow  for  a  few  days, 
at  least.  We  have  a  meeting  this  evening,  a  private  one, 
just  a  few  Saints  and  friends  whom  we  can  trust.  Will 
you  come?" 

He  would  like  nothing  better;  so  after  walking  down 
the  road  some  distance,  they  retraced  their  steps  and 
entered  a  small  dwelling.  A  few  had  already  gathered. 
Some  were  strange  to  Marcus,  while  three  were  members 
of  his  former  congregation.  They  were  somewhat  sur- 
prised to  see  him,  but  he  followed  Elder  James'  example 
and  pressed  them  all  by  the  hand.  They  all  chatted  freely 
together  but  in  a  subdued  tone,  as  word  had  been  brought 
that  a  mob  would  surely  break  up  any  meeting  the  Mor- 
mons might  hold.  Marcus  saw  that  most  of  those 
present  were  of  the  poorer  working  class.  He  could  not 
help  contrasting  his  own  position  that  evening  with  the 
one  he  had  held  but  yesterday, 

The  meeting  was  a  very  informal  affair.  Singing 
was  dispensed  with,  but  there  was  an  opening  prayer. 
Then  Elder  James  talked  for  a  few  moments,  and  he  was 
f  ullowed  by  some  members  of  the  congregation  who  bore 
their  testimonies  to  what  they  had  experienced.  One 
young  woman,  Eliza  Dixon  by  name,  stated  that  she  had 
been  to  the  church  the  day  before  and  had  heard  Mr. 
King.  She  had  always  believed  what  he  said  about  the 
generally  accepted  Christian  doctrines,  and  when  he  told 
of  new  revelation  and  the  restoration  of  the  Gospel,  she 


32  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

was  glad  because  that  was  what  she  had  been  looking 
for.  Even  that  morning  she  had  sought  out  a  friend 
whom  she  knew  was  acquainted  with  the  Mormon  mission- 
ary. She  had  been  directed  to  Elder  James,  and  they 
had  had  a  long  talk.  She  was  ready  for  baptism,  she 
said. 

One  or  two  others  followed  in  the  same  strain,  and 
the  elder  asked  Marcus  if  he  desired  to  speak.  At  first 
he  paid  no,  but  afterwards  arose  and  expressed  his  plea- 
sure in  the  meeting,  It  reminded  him,  he  said,  of  what 
he  had  read  of  the  primitive  Christians  when  they  met  in 
secret  places  for  fear  of  their  persecutors.  He  had  found 
the  truth,  and  he  thanked  God  for  it.  If  his  words  yes- 
terday had  caused  one  soul  to  come  to  the  same  knowl- 
edge, he  had  been  amply  repaid  for  the  effort. 

After  the  meeting,  a  little  band  of  men  and  women, 
with  bundles  of  clothes  in  their  hands,  went  silently  down 
to  the  river.  There,  in  the  shadow  of  the  trees,  Elder 
James  took  them,  one  at  a  time,  down  into  the  water  and 
baptized  them. 

A  few  days  afterwards  Marcus  was  visited  by  a 
delegation  of  ministers.  They  came  to  labor  with  him 
and  show  him  the  error  of  his  ways;  kindly  at  first;  but 
when  he  met  their  arguments  boldly,  they  changed  their 
manner  to  one  of  ridicule.  They  rehearsed  to  him  the 
usual  tales  about  Joseph  Smith  and  the  atrocious  Mi  r- 
mons,  at  all  of  which  Marcus  only  smiled.  The  confer- 
ence ended  very  unsatisfactorily,  a3  far  as  the  ministers 
were  concerned. 

Weeks  passed.  Marcus  learned  that  Alice  Merton 
had  gone  to  visit  friends  in  another  state,  to  be  absent 
all  summer,  so  he  heard  no  more  of  her.  He  came  to  no 


MARCUS  KING,   MORMON.  33 

better  understanding  with  his  mother,  and  she  had  now 
no  great  objection  to  his  leaving.  Marcus  and  Elder 
James  often  counseled  together.  They  both  saw  that  it 
was  useless  for  Marcus  to  stay  where  he  was  any  longer. 
His  influence  was  gone.  He  was  now  an  outcast  so  far  as 
Hungerton  society  was  concerned.  Marcus  also  got  the 
spirit  of  gathering;  he  also  knew  that  his  future  lay  with 
the  Latter-day  Saints.  From  one  view  point,  his  upward 
career  in  the  world  had  suddenly  ceased,  and  he  had  been 
precipitated  to  the  bottom.  He  must  begin  life  anew, 
and  begin  at  the  bottom.  The  sooner  he  began  the  bet- 
ter; so  it  was  good-bye  to  Hungerton  and  all  its  familiar 
scenes.  There  was  an  attraction  westward,  to  the  new 
Zion  arising  from  out  the  great  American  desert,  and 
Marcus  made  all  preparation  for  the  journey. 

On  the  train  which  bore  him  westward  Marcus  met 
an  old  college  acquaintance,  who  was  going  on  a  vacation 
trip  to  his  old  home  in  Missouri  before  he  settled  down  to 
his  work. 

"You  see,"  explained  his  friend,  "I  had  a  pretty  fair 
position  where  I  have  been,  but  there  wasn't  enough 
salary  in  it.  A  person  can't  live  on  fifteen  hundred 
a  year  and  keep  up  appearances,  you  know.  So  I  got  a 
call  from  an  adjoining  church  with  a  salary  of  two  thou- 
sand dollars,  and  of  course  I  accepted.  I  am  going  to 
arrange  for  my  house,  and  you  must  come  and  see  me 
when  I  get  settled." 

"I  fear  I  shall  not  be  able— you  haven't  heard— no, 
of  course  you  haven't;  but  I'm  not  a  minister  now;  I've 
given  it  up— I  have  resigned." 

"Why,  what's  the  matter,  Mark?" 

"Well,  you  know  we  used  to  have  great  times  dis- 


34  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

cussing  theology  at  school.  You  also  know  that  we  didn't 
believe  half  that  was  taught  us.  Still  you  and  I  and  hun- 
dreds of  others  said  nothing  about  our  honest  opinions, 
but  sold  our  consciences  for  a  salary.  Some  got  a  thou- 
sand, some  fifteen  hundred,  and  some  more.  I've  quit 
it." 

His  friend  looked  surpriseJ,  and  hardly  knew  what 
to  say. 

"You're  startled,  of  course,  and  shocked;  but  I'm 
not  sorry;  what  I  have  lost  in  worldly  things  I  have 
gained  in  heavenly.  You  don't  understand  that;  of 
course  not."  Whereupon  Marcus  told  him  the  whole  his- 
tory of  the  past  three  months. 

His  reverend  friend  leaned  back  in  the  car  seat  and 
said  nothing.  He  seemed  shocked  beyond  utterance. 
Marcus  went  on  explaining  to  him  the  principles  of  Mor- 
monism,  and  he  was  not  interrupted.  Only  once  did  he 
say  quietly; 

"Friend  Marcus,  all  that  you  have  been  saying  about 
the  'principles  of  the  Gospel'  is  all  right  enough  in  its 
place,  but  you  know  that  we  have  placed  too  much  em- 
phasis on  creeds  and  dogmas.  A  true  and  living  faith  in 
Christ,  a  love  of  Christ,  is,  after  all,  the  only  essential. 
You  surely  could  have  taught  that  and  kept  your  posi- 
tion. " 

"Yes,  I  know  that  theologians  are  drifting  into  the 
belief  that  articles  of  faith,  creeds  and  doctrinal  prin- 
ciples have  nothing  to  do  with  Christ  and  the  church; 
but  I  differ.  Creeds  are  necessary,  foundation  principles 
are  necessary.  Christ  taught  them.  Principles  are  the 
forerunners  of  practice.  When  creeds  and  doctrines  are 
wrong,  the  fruits  they  bear  are  evil.  Teach  people  cor- 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  35 

rect  principles  and  their  lives  will  be  all  right,  said  Joseph 
Smith;  and  that  doctrine  is  sound." 

"And  so  you  are  going  to  Utah?"  asked  his  friend 
after  a  pause. 

"I'm  going  to  try." 

"Well,  Marcus,  I  can  only  hope  that  you'll  get  out  of 
this  alive.  I  don't  know  much  about  the  Mormons,  but 
father  does.  He  helped  to  rid  Missouri  of  them.  My 
dear  friend,  I  pity  you." 

"Spare  your  tears,  old  boy.  You  may  need  them 
in  your  next  sermon,  especially  if  you  speak  of  the  dam- 
nation of  the  heathen,  or  the  final  state  of  l-he  unregener- 
ated." 

That  ended  the  talk.  Marcus  soon  changed  cars  and 
his  friend  went  on  his  own  way. 

Marcus'  destination  was  away  out  on  the  prairies  of 
the  west,  where  he  would  meet  Elder  James  and  prepare 
for  the  trip  across  the  Plains  to  Salt  Lake  City. 


CHAPTER  V. 

It  was  the  latter  part  of  July  when  he  reached  Iowa 
City,  which  was  then  the  western  terminus  of  the  railroad 
and  the  fitting-out  point.  Of  all  the  strange  scenes  which 
he  had  witnessed  thus  far,  that  at  Iowa  City  was  the 
most  interesting  and  wonderful.  Here  for  the  first  time 
he  met  a  large  number  of  his  co-religionists.  At  first 
he  experienced  a  shock  to  his  feelings  at  sight  of  their 
personal  appearance,  but  when  he  understood  that  they 
had  traveled  long  distances  from  various  quarters  of  the 
earth,  his  good  sense  told  him  that  they  could  not  have 


36  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

the  appearance  of  stay-at-home  Christians  in  the  town  of 
Hungerton,  for  instance.  When  he  arrived,  there  were  at 
least  six  hundred  Mormons,  most  of  whom  were  from 
Great  Britain,  and  expected  to  get  to  the  Great  Salt 
Lake  Valley  that  fall.  How  were  they  to  do  it?  They 
seemed  to  be  extremely  poor.  There  were  very  few 
horses,  mules,  or  even  oxen,  and  less  wagons. 

As  they  took  a  walk  out  among  the  camp,  Elder 
James  said:  "Here  you  see  an  answer  to  your  question. 
See  what  these  men  are  busy  with!  These  two  wheeled 
carts  are  to  carry  their  clothing  and  provisions." 

"And  who  are  to  pull  the  carts?"  asked  Marcus. 

"They  themselves,  the  men,  perhaps  the  women." 

"How  far  is  it  to  the  Valley?" 

"Thirteen  hundred  miles." 

"And  I  understand  there  are  burning  deserts  and 
rough  mountains  to  cross?" 

"Oh,  yes,  more  than  one." 

"And  they  will  have  to  walk  every  step  of  the  way?" 

"Yes;  most  of  them.  Hundreds  have  done  it,  and 
no  doubt  these  will  also  do  it.  You  see,  they  must  get  to 
the  Valley.  They  can't  stay  here.  This  company  will 
start  in  a  few  days.  It  will  be  rather  late,  but  they  will 
be  able  to  make  it,  if  they  have  moderate  luck." 

"But,  Brother  James,  I  can't  see  how  they  can  do  it. 
It  will  be  awful — the  women  and  children!" 

''You've  read  of  the  Pilgrims  and  the  MayflowerT' 

"Yes;  but,  great  heavens,  that  was  nothing  to  com- 
pare with  this!" 

Marcus  was  soon  made  acquainted  with  the  leaders 
of  the  people,  whom  he  found  to  be  intelligent  men  of 
Elder  James'  type.  By  their  advice  he  bought  a  yoke  of 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  37 

oxen,  a  wagon,  provisions,  and  other  necessary  articles. 
Elder  James  helped  him.  He  gave  the  young  man  some 
practical  lessons  in  yoking  and  controlling  his  oxen.  It 
was  all  extremely  new  and  strange,  but  Marcus  went  to 
work  in  earnest,  and  soon  mastered  the  art  of  swinging 
his  buckskin  whip  with  a  "gee"  or  a  "haw."  Elder 
James  was  not  going  west;  but  he  arranged  with  a  family 
to  do  the  cooking  for  Marcus,  that  he  might  be  freed 
from  that  responsibility. 

A  few  days  after  his  arrival  at  Iowa  City,  the  hand- 
cart company  was  ready  to  be  off.  That  morning  there  was 
a  scene,  a  scene  in  which  mingled  the  ludicrous  and  piti- 
able: the  six  hundred  men,  women,  and  children  on  the 
move  westward.  Each  family,  or  group  of  four  or  five, 
had  a  cart  in  which  were  loaded  their  provisions  and 
clothing.  The  carts  were  simple  affairs:  two  wheels  with 
light  frames  over  the  axles  and  with  short  shafts.  At  the 
end  of  the  shafts  were  cross  bars  which  projected  out  on 
each  side.  Here  the  "human  horses"  attached  themselves 
and  started  off.  There  were  a  few  wagons  along,  drawn 
by  oxen.  These  carried  provisions  and  some  of  the  heavy 
baggage. 

Marcus  went  up  to  a  cart  that  had  stopped.  They 
were  adjusting  the  load,  and  there  was  some  discussion  as 
to  the  best  position  of  the  pullers.  The  cart  was  owned 
by  a  poor  English  family,  and  was  not  a  very  substantial 
one.  The  axles  were  of  wood  and  the  boxes  of  leather. 
The  father  got  in  the  shafts  to  be  the  main  propelling 
power,  his  wife  took  her  place  by  his  side  and  grasped  the 
cross  bar,  and  a  fifteen  year  old  son  went  on  the  other 
side.  A  grown  daughter'  had  arranged  a  kind  of  harness 
of  leather  straps  which  she  fastened  -  over  her  shoulders 


38  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

and  then  to  the  end  of  the  shafts.  Thus  away  they 
went,  while  a  little  three  year  old  boy  sat  on  top  of  the 
load,  shouting  in  great  glee. 

Marcus  walked  with  them  some  distance.  The  whole 
scene  had  a  strangeness  about  it.  Everybody  seemed  hap- 
py enough.  They  laughed  and  shouted  to  each  other, 
and  made  their  jokes  at  each  other's  expense;  but  Marcus 
could  not  help  thinking  of  the  thirteen  hundred  miles 
before  them. 

"Come,  brother,  where's  your  cart?"  some  one 
greeted  Marcus;  and  he  turned  to  see  the  broad  smile  of 
an  English  girl,  who  was  pulling  very  little  on  a  cart.  Two 
young  fellows  were  doing  the  work.  ''Hi'm  the  driver, 
ye  know,  "she  laughed.  "What  do  you  think  of  my 
'osses?" 

"They'll  do,"  replied  Marcus,  "I  think  they  will  take 
you  through. " 

But  all  did  not  take  the  matter  so  pleasantly.  A 
number  were  discontented  and  grumb'ed.  Others  said 
they  would  not  be  able  to  make  it,  and  Marcus  looked 
into  their  sad  eyes  and  believed  them.  It  seemed  worse 
for  the  older  people  and  the  children.  Some  of  the  latter 
soon  got  tired  and  cried,  and  then  the  father,  or  per- 
chance the  older  brother,  would  lift  the  child  up  on  his 
shoulders  and  carry  the  extra  weight  as  he  pulled  his 
load. 

And  all  of  these  people  had  left  their  native  land  for 
this!  Most  of  them  hai  been  tossed  about  for  long 
weeks  on  the  ocean  to  get  to  this!  Many  had  left  com- 
fortable homes  to  travel  footsore  and  weary  across  these 
plains!  Yes,  there  would  be  no  more  rest  for  many  of 
them  until  they  laid  their  weary  bodies  down  under  the 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  39 

sod  of  the  prairie!  And  it  had  all  been  done  for  the  love 
of  the  Gospel, — for  the  love  of  the  light  which  had  made 
him  also  an  outcast  from  home  and  a  wanderer  among 
strange  peoples  and  lands. 

Marcus  turned  and  went  back.  When  he  looked 
around  again,  the  train  was  hidden  by  a  rise  in  the  road, 
and  only  the  thin  cloud  of  dust  which  arose  above  it 
showed  their  westward  path. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

About  a  week  after  the  departure  of  the  hand-cart 
company,  Marcus  started  with  the  wagon  train.  The 
last  act  before  leaving  was  to  mail  a  letter  to  his  mother. 
The  season  was  late,  but  the  company  was  small  and  they 
could  travel  rapidly.  Marcus  soon  learned  to  accommo- 
date himself  to  his  surroundings.  He  followed  the  ex- 
ample of  the  other  teamsters  and  walked  by  the  wagon 
most  of  the  time,  although  he  could  have  ridden.  Elder 
James  had  explained  to  the  captain  of  the  company  Mar- 
cus King's  former  position,  and  he  had  made  it  as  easy  as 
possible  for  the  ex-minister.  Had  Marcus  known  this  he 
would  have  resented  it.  He  felt  as  though  he  wanted  to 
work  with  the  rest.  He  was  no  better  than  they,  even 
though  his  whole  life  up  to  that  time  had  been  one  of 
bodily  ease,  and  his  training  unfit  for  the  life  of  a%  pi- 
oneer. 

After  the  day's  journey,  Marcus  was  ofttimes  ex- 
tremely tired;  and  when  the  tents  were  pitched  and  the 
fires  were  lighted  (which  was  only  when  they  had  plenty 
of  wood  and  there  was  no  danger  of  Indians),  he  never  had 


40  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

strength  to  join  in  any  merriment.  At  first,  the  dancing 
in  which  they  often  indulged,  seemed  strange  to  Marcus. 
Why  should  religious  people  dance,  especially  on  such  a 
journey?  After  the  hard  day's  toil,  out  would  come  a 
violin,  a  space  on  the  grass  would  be  cleared,  and  a  dozen 
couples  merrily  whirled  into  the  strains  of  the  weird  mu- 
sic. He  had  once  expressed  his  doubt  as  to  its  propriety 
to  a  brother  teamster  who  had  crossed  the  plains  a  num- 
ber of  times,  and  the  explanation  had  been  given  that  it 
was  a  good  thing  to  drive  away  "the  blues."  They  had 
been  standing  looking  at  a  merry  crowd,  and  at  that  mo- 
ment a  good-looking,  roguish  maiden  stepped  up  to  them, 
and  said  that  she  was  looking  for  a  partner.  The  team- 
ster had  instantly  taken  the  girl's  arm  and  slipped  it  into 
Maicus',  and  before  he  krew  what  he  was  doing,  he  was 
whirling  away  with  her  over  the  soft  grass.  The  truth 
was,  as  he  afterward  learned,  that  the  girl  had  taken  the 
bold  step  that  she  might  say  she  had  danced  with  a  very 
sanctimonious  sectarian  minister.  After  that,  she  was 
not  the  only  one  with  whom  he  stepped  to  the  time  of  the 
music. 

But  they  did  not  always  dance  during  the  evenings. 
There  were  a  good  many  fine  singers  in  the  company,  and 
the  songs  of  Zion  often  rang  out  over  the  still,  moon- 
lighted prairies.  They  always  rested  on  Sunday  and  had 
religious  services.  Marcus  was  interested  in  the  strange 
serinons  often  delivered,  and  he  could  not  help  contrast- 
ing them  with  the  smoothly-flowing,  logically- arranged 
discourses  which  he  and  his  fellow  ministers  had  been 
trained  to  give.  There  were  a  number  in  the  company  who 
were  returning 'home  from  a  two  or  three  years'  mission, 
and  the  experiences  which  they  related  were  extremely 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  41 

interesting.  Marcus  was  asked  to  speak  a  number  of 
times.  Dressed  in  a  blue  "jumper,"  and  his  corduroy 
trousers  tucked  into  the  tops  of  long  boots,,  he  mounted 
the  dry-goods  box  and  did  the  best  he  could  under  his 
changed  environments.  One  day  he  told  them  his  history 
— how  he  came  to  a  knowledge  of  the  truth.  After  the 
meeting,  an  elderly  lady  came  up  to  him  with  tears  in  her 
eyes. 

"Dear  brother,  God  bless  you,"  she  said.  "1  left  a 
boy  at  home— a  boy  about  your  age.  He  is  in  the  semin- 
ary learning  to  be  a  Methodist  preacher.  He  couldn't 
see  the  truth,  though  I  talked  with  him  about  the  Gos- 
pel." 

She  clung  to  his  hands  and  looked  the  young  man  in 
the  face,  while  the  tears  slowly  trickled  down  the  care- 
worn furrows  in  her  cheeks. 

"And  you  also  have  a  mother?"  she  asked. 

"Yes;  I  have  a  mother  at  home."  She  still  clung  to 
his  hands;  and  a  big  lump  arose  in  his  throat.  If  ever 
he  had  seen  a  saintly  face,  he  thought,  this  must  be  one 
before  him.  His  eyes  grew  dim;  he  could  not  see  the 
wagons,  or  cattle,  or  tents;  the  rolling  prairie  faded  as  a 
dissolving  view,  and  another  picture  came  into  its  place, 
—a  wonderful,  ever-changing  picture.  It  was  his  mother 
and  Alice,  fair  Alice,  with  a  sweet,  sad  smile;  the  old 
home  embedded  in  trees  and  flowers;  the  cosy  study  with 
walls  of  b^oks;  the  church  and  upturned  faces;  the  hills 
covered  with  forests;  the  river,  bending  in  broad  silvery 
bands  around  the  town  of  Hungerton;  and  every  trifling 
detail  mingled  and  mixed,  then  stood  out  in  clear  distinc- 
tiveness  in  this  wonderful  kaleidoscopic  picture. 


42  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

' 'Brother  King,  will  you  come  with  me  to  my  tent?1' 
said  the  sister.  "I  do  want  to  talk  with  you." 

"Yes,  I  shall  be  pleased  to." 

She  led  the  way  to  a  tent.  The  sun  was  sinking 
through  a  hazy  sky.  The  wild  odor  of  the  plains  pervaded 
the  evening  air.  The  camp  lay  as  a  speck  of  life  on  that 
vast  level  surface,  even  as  a  lone  ship  in  mid-ocean.  Be- 
fore some  of  the  tents  small  fires  blazed,  and  there  were 
the  usual  preparations  for  the  evening  meal. 

'  'Janet,  Brother  King  has  come  to  eat  supper  with 
us." 

The  girl  busy  at  the  fire  suddenly  straightened  her- 
self. Her  mother's  greeting  startled  her,  and  she  looked 
somewhat  confused. 

"I  invited  him  to  come  and  see  us,  and  of  course 
he'll  stay  to  supper.  I  want  to  have  a  talk  with  him,  he 
reminds  me  so  much  of  your  brother  David.  Haven't  you 
met  my  daughter  before,  Brother  King?" 

"Not  to  speak  to  her,  I  think,"  said  Marcus. 

"I  am  pleased  to  meet  you.  Brother  King,"  said  the 
girl,  giving  him  a  warm  shake  of  the  hand. 

"Can  you  find  a  seat?  We  left  our  chairs  at  home» 
you  know.  Here,  take  this  box— let  me  put  this  quilt 
on  it." 

.  Marcus  looked,  nearly  stared,  at  the  girl.  She  wore 
a  dress  of  light  calico,  which  became  her  as  though  it 
had  been  of  a  much  finer  material,  fitting  perfectly  the 
full,  rounded,  but  not  large  figure.  Her  face  was  full  of 
warm  color,  and  she  had  red  hair.  The  novelist  would 
have  called  it  auburn,  or  golden,  or  some  such  evading 
term,  but  in  truth  it  was  plain  red ;  and  it  was  just  the 
proper  color,  too.  Any  other  shade  would  not  have 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  43 

blended  so  naturally  and  beautifully  with  that  clear,  rosy 
skin.  The  girl's  faint,  pleasant  smile  and  easy,  graceful 
manner  as  she  moved  about  the  camp,  also  drew  the 
young  man's  attention. 

''Now  then,  dear  folks,"  said  Marcus,  perceiving 
that  they  were  making  some  extra  effort  for  his  comfort, 
"do  not  put  yourself  to  any  inconvenience  on  my  account. 
Though  this  life  is  new  to  me,  if  I  mistake  not,  it  is 
equally  foreign  to  you." 

"Yes,"  said  the  mother,  "we  made  great  sacrifices  to 
get  to  Zion  this!  year,  and  this  mode  of  traveling  is  hard 
on  old  people  like  me — but  mind,  I'm  not  complaining;  if  I 
may  but  lay  my  bones  with  the  people  of  God,  I  shall  be 
content." 

4  'Mother's  always  talking  of  laying  down  her  bones, 
Brother  King,  when  the  fact  is,  that  she's  strong  and  will 
live  many  years  yet.  She  stands  this  trip  nearly  as  well 
as  I  do."  * 

The  meal  of  milk  and  bread  and  fried  bacon  was 
spread  out  on  a  cloth  in  the  tent,  and  bundles  and  boxes 
were  brought  upon  which  to  sit.  Sister  Harmon  (for 
that  was  her  name)  also  brought  out  a  tin  of  preserves. 

"Where  did  you  say  you  came  from,  Brother  King?" 
asked  the  mother. 

Marcus  told  her. 

"Why,  Janet,  we  lived  within  ten  miles  of  Brother 
King  all  our  lives.  We  came  from  Newton,  ten  miles  from 
Hungerton.  You  know  the  place." 

"Yes,"  said  he,  "I've  been  at  Newton  a  number  of 
times;  but  I'm  not  acquainted  much  there." 

"Well,  it's  interesting,  anyway,  isn't  it,  Janet?" 

"It's  quite  strange,"  answered  Janet.     "Have  an- 


44  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

other  piece  of  bread,  Brother  King.  Ashes  got  in  my 
bake  pan,  and  it's  not  very  nice  looking,  but"— 

"Don't  offer  a-  y  excuses,  sister;  I  think  I  can  un- 
derstand all  your  difficulties  in  the  way  of  cooking." 

"Well,  well,''  the  mother  continued  to  repeat,  "and 
so  you're  from  Hungerton.  Strange  that  I  should  not 
have  seen  you.  I've  been  there  a  number  of  times.  Do 
you  remember  to  have  met  Brother  King,  Janet?" 

<4No,  I  do  not  now  remember,  mother.  Have  some  of 
this  preserve.  This  came  all  the  way  from  home." 

And  so  they  talked  and  ate.  Sister  Harmcn  told  of 
her  son  David  who  ridiculed  Mormonism.  What  a  time  they 
had  had  with  him,  and  how  angry  he  had  been  when  he 
learned  that  they  were  going  to  Utah.  Janet  said  but 
little,  and  Marcus  tried  as  best  he  could  to  cheer  them. 
He  found  that  he  was  not  alone  in  trials.  No  doubt  these 
two  women  had  passed  through  much  tribulation  for  the 
truth.  Perhaps  every  soul  in  that  camp  had  made  a  sac- 
rifice, many  of  them  greater  than  his  own.  His  visit 
that  evening  helped  Marcus  to  be  more  contented  with 
his  lot.  Hf  was  not  such  a  hero,  after  all. 

Westward,  westward  the  emigrant  train  moved, 
rolling  in  long  procession  across  the  prairie,  slowly  climb- 
ing the  hills  and  coming  down  the  inclines  with  rattle  and 
confusion.  Every  night  the  wagons  were  placed  in  a 
circle  forming  a  corral  or  enclosure,  into  which  the  cattle 
were  driven  next  morniag  to  be  yoked.  The  daily  routine 
of  the  same  things,  day  after  day,  week  after  week,  be- 
gan to  be  irksome  to  Marcus  King.  At  the  end  of  a 
month,  it  seemed  to  him  that  they  might  have  passed  half 
way  around  the  globe. 

Still  westward  they  moved.     The  season  was  getting 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMOM.  45 

late,  and  they  would  have  to  hurry.  The  nights  began  to 
be  cold,  and  a  number  of  the  last  streams  had  a  coating 
of  ice.  Marcus  was  sunburnt  and  roughened  and  shaggy 
enough  for  any  frontiersman.  He  might  now  have  walked 
through  the  streets  of  Hungerton  without  being  recog- 
nized. 

He  was  always  free  and  friendly  with  every  member 
of  that  company,  but  still  there  are  always  preferences. 
He  seemed  to  find  the  best  companionship  in  Sister  Har- 
mon and  her  daughter.  He  soon  learned  that  they 
were  of  a  class  akin  to  the  one  to  which  he  had  belonged. 
Their  modes  of  living,  their  thoughts  and  tastes,  had  been 
like  his  own.  They  were  intelligent.  Janet  had  been  to 
the  best  schools.  Marcus  had  no  doubt  that  the  now  cal- 
loused hands  could  better  bring  sweet  sounds  from  ivory 
keys.  This  preference  was  natural  enough.  It  takes 
time  to  make  radical  changes  in  thought  and  action,  and 
Marcus  could  not  be  blamed  for  ofttimes  passing  the 
wilder,  more  boisterous  group  to  have  a  quiet  chat  with 
Janet  and  her  mother. 

One  morning  Janet  came  to  where  Marcus  was  walk- 
ing beside  his  wagon.  Her  mocher  had  not  been  well 
enough  to  walk,  and  it  had  been  lonesome  without  her. 

"I'm  so  glad  you  came  over,"  Marcus  said,  when 
she  tried  to  give  some  excuse  for  coming.  "I'm  glad  to 
see  you,  Janet.  Walk  along  with  me  awhile  and  we'll 
have  a  talk." 

There  had  been  a  brisk  shower  the  night  before,  and 
the  road  did  not  give  out  its  usual  cloud  of  dust.  The  air 
was  cool,  and  it  was  a  pleasure  to  begin  the  day's  jour- 
ney. Janet  took  off  her  large  straw  hat,  that  the  cool 
breeze  might  better  blow  into  her  warm  face. 


46  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

"Janet,  I  think  you  might  have  let  your  mother  fin- 
ish that  story  the  other  evening,"  began  the  young  man. 

Janet  got  the  whip  and  proceeded  to  give  it  a  number 
of  fire-cracker  pops;  but  she  did  not  answer  Marcus. 

"It  promised  to  be  a  regular  romance.  I  always  did 
admire  a  good  story,  and  I  haven't  read  one  for  so  long, 
that  I  fairly  hunger  for  one.  You  tell  me  it,  Janet." 

"It  was  nothing,  indeed  it  was.  Mama  colored  it  so. 
I  \\asnearly  out  of  patience  with  her." 

"Which  was  wrong." 

"Of  course  it  was;  I  was  sorry  for  it.  Did  you  see 
the  handcart  company  start  from  Iowa  City?" 

Marcus  smiled  at  her  turning  of  the  subject. 

"Yes;  and  the  captain  said  yesterday  that  it  is  not 
far  ahead." 

"I've  wondered  all  along  why  we  do  not  overtake 
them." 

"Brother  Brown  said  that  a  handcart  company  of 
strong  young  people  can  beat  any  ox-team  across  the 
Plains;  but  I  understand  this  company  just  in  front  has 
many  old  people,  and  they  are  having  a  hard  time. 

Then  he  told  her  of  the  start  he  had  witnessed  at 
Iowa  City.  "It  would  have  been  extremely  funny  had  it 
not  been  for  the  sadness  of  the  scene.  Your  mother  was 
just  saying,  the  other  evening,  when  you  interrupted  her, 
that—" 

"Brother  King,  how  is  it  that  we  haven't  seen  any 
Indians?  Our  friends  at  home  said  we  would  be  scalped 
sure,  but  I  told  them  that  no  Indian  would  dare  to  touch 
my  hair— he'd  burn  his  fingers  if  he  did. 

"I  hadn't  heard  that  red-skins  were  afraid  of— of, 
that  is— " 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  47 

"Of  red  hair.  How  stupid  you  are!  What's  the 
use  of  being  so  delicate  about  telling  the  truth.  It's  red. 
and  I  know  it,  and  you  know  it.  I'm  not  one  of  those 
people  who  do  not  like  to  be  told  their  hair  is  red." 

"Well,  for  my  part,  I  think  you  are  sensible  in  that; 
besides  some  people  look  better  with  red  hair.  I  don't 
think  the  Creator  made  any  mistake.  I  believe  this  sub- 
ject had  a  bearing -on  the  story  your  mother  was  telling.'' 

"It  hadn't;  not  a  bit." 

"Well,  how  did  it  happen,  then  that— " 

"I  must  go  to  mother.     She  may  need  me." 

"No;  she  doesn't.  See,  she's  sitting  up  in  the 
wagon,  and  talking  to  the  driver.  I'll  warrant  she's  tell- 
ing him  the  rest  of  that  story." 

"O,  Brother  King,  you're  an  awful  man!'* 

Then  they  both  laughed  and  walked  on  for  a  few  min- 
utes in  silence. 

"Shall  I  tell  you  that  story?"  she  asked. 

'Tes;  do." 

"Well,  once  upon  a  time — " 

"Now,  don't  compose  as  you  go  along." 

''Don't  interrupt  me,  or  I  shall  lose  the  thread  of  the 
narrative." 

"Excuse  me. '' 

"Once  upon  a  time  a  young  man  and  a  young  woman 
who  had  red  hair  were  engaged  to  be  married.  The 
young  woman  became  a  'Mormon'  and  the  young  man 
wouldn't  have  her." 

"Well?" 

"That 'sail." 

"That's  pretty  short." 

"Yea;  the  engagement  was  pretty  short." 


48  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

"You  don't  seem  to  be  sorry  over  it." 

'  Tm  not  a  bit  sorry.  I'm  glad  it  turned  out  as  it 
has." 

"Won't  you  get  on  my  wagon  and  ride?  You  must 
be  tired." 

"Oh,  no;  I'm  not.     I  want  to  hear  your  story  now." 

"My  story?" 

"Yes,  your  story;  now  don't  deny  that  you  have 
one." 

"No,  Janet,  I'll  not  deny  it.  I  have  one  and  I'll  tell 
it  to  you." 

Their  laughter  had  ceased. 

"It's  very  strange — our  two  stories.  Janet,  if  I 
hadn't  become  a  'Mormon'  I  would  now  have  been  a 
married  man,  and  had  for  a  wife  the  sweetest  and  best 
girl  inHungerton." 

"It  must  have  been  hard  for  you.  You  cared,  I  can 
see  that." 

"Cared!  I  wish  I  hadn't.  I  wish  I  didn't  now  care; 
but  I  don't  know  that  I  should  say  that;  it  may  be  wrong. 
Yes,  Janet,  Alice  Merton  is  a  good  girl,  but  of  course  she 
doesn't  understand.  I  would  gladly  have  left  all  the  rest 
if  only  Alice  had  come  with  me." 

Marcus  had  become  so  earnest  that  Janet  could  say 
nothing.  At  this  point  the  train  came  in  sight  of  an  im- 
mense herd  of  buffaloes,  They  had  been  to  the  river  for 
water,  and  were  now  heading  for  their  feed  grounds  again. 
The  great  moving  mass  seemed  to  be  coming  directly  upon 
the  long  train.  Apparently,  the  train  of  wagons  was 
directly  in  the  path  of  the  herd.  As  the  animals  came 
nearer,  the  captain  of  the  train  came  riding  on  a  mule 
and  shouted  orders  to  the  drivers.  The  front  wagons 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  49 

were  hurried  forward  as  fast  as  possible  while  the  captain 
rode  by  Marcus,  and  the  very  next  wagon  behind  him  was 
ordered  to  turn  about  as  quickly  as  possible.  This  move- 
ment made  a  large  gap  in  the  train,  for  which  the  leaders 
of  the  buffaloes  now  made.  The  earth  fairly  shook  as  on 
they  came. 

Janet  stood  still  for  an  instant,  then  with  a  cry 
turned  to  run  back  across  the  gap. 

"Mother,  0  mother's  back  there!"  she  said. 

Marcus  caught  her  and  forcibly  held  her.  "Your 
mother's  all  right,"  he  said.  ''The  buif aloes  will  tramp 
you  under  foot.  Come,  get  back  here." 

The  foremost  animals  were  now  in  the  opening,  and 
the  herd  pressed  closely  behind.  They  swept  through 
with  great  shaggy  heads,  wild  eyes,  and  dilated  nostrils- 
The  drivers  stood  guard  over  the  nearest  cattle,  to  pre- 
vent any  stampede.  As  the  last  stragglers  went  galloping 
by,  pop,  pop,  went  the  rifles,  and  a  buffalo  dropped  not 
twenty  yards  from  where  Murcus  was  standing  with  Janet 
clinging  to  his  arm. 

"I  couldn't  let  that  chance  go  by  without  getting 
some  fresh  meat,"  said  the  hunter,  one  of  the  teamsters. 

Janet  was  pale,  and  trembled  violently.  As  soon  as 
the  wagons  drove  up  again,  she  hastened  to  her  mother, 
and  there  she  had  a  good  cry. 

That  evening  the  whole  company  had  fresh  buffalo 
steak  for  supper,  Marcus  came  to  Sister  Harmon's  tent, 
as  he  said,  to  see  what  practical  value  Janet's  course  in 
the  cocking  school  had  been;  but  that  evening  after  the 
company  had  gathered  for  prayers,  and  thanks  had  been 
given  to  God  for  His  watch  care  that  day,  Marcus  touched 
Janet's  arm  and  said: 


50  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

"Those^  things  we  were  talking  about  today — let  it 
be  only  between  you  and  me." 

"Yes;  of  course,"  she  answered. 
"Then  good  night." 
"Good  night." 


CHAPTER  VII. 

The  company  lay  at  camp  in  the  hills  of  Wyoming 
All  that  day  the  weather  had  been  cold,  and  now  a  sharp 
wind  was  blowing  from  the  north.  The  sky  was  full  of 
clouds,  and  there  were  all  indications  of  a  storm,  and  a 
snowstorm  at  that.  What  if  winter  should  burst  upon 
them  now  while  they  were  yet  a  month's  travel  from  the 
valley? 

Marcus  King  began  to  realize  what  it  meant  to  be  a 
Mormon  in  that  day.  Their  company  had  been  well  sup- 
plied and  were  not  as  yet  suifering,  but  there  was  no  tell- 
ing what  the  future  would  bring.  The  hand-cart  company 
was  just  ahead.  The  newly-made  graves  which  the  wagon 
company  passed,  indicated  the  condition  of  affairs  with 
the  people  in  front.  Marcus  thought  of  that  start  in 
Iowa.  What  they  must  have  suffered!  What  they  must 
yet  suffer  to  reach  their  destination! 

That  evening  Marcus  took  his  gun  and  walked  out 
over  some  low  hills  skirting  the  road.  It  was  a  wild  even- 
ing. The  clouds  hurried  across  the  shining  moon.  He  had 
heard  the  cry  of  a  wolf  and  made  his  way  towards  it.  He 
could  see  the  creature  sitting  on  a  rocky  knoll,  and  his 
unearthly  howl  added  to  the  night's  dismalness.  Present- 
ly another  cry  come  upon  the  wind.  The  wolf  saw  Marcus 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  51 

and  trotted  slowly  off.  The  strange  sound  come  again — 
surely  it  was  the  cry  of  a  human  being.  Marcus  instantly 
thought  of  Indians,  and  turned  towards  camp,  when,  from 
out  of  a  ravine  into  which  the  wolf  had  been  looking,  came 
the  distinct  cry  of  a  child.  Marcus  paused  and  peered 
down  into  the  shadows.  He  thought  he  discerned  some- 
thing under  a  bank,  but  it  might  be  an  Indian  camp  or 
perhaps  a  party  of  hostile  savages. 

The  wind  came  up  in  great  sweeps  from  the  ravine, 
carrying  with  it  that  human  cry.  Marcus  was  in  doubt. 
Perhaps  some  belated  emigrant  was  perishing.  The  night 
was  coming  on,  and  no  one  could  live  through  it  unpro- 
tected. That  cry  was  of  a  child.  Marcus  went  cautious- 
ly forward  down  the  ravine.  Presently  the  moon  cast  a 
hurried  stream  of  light,  and  the  outlines  of  a  cart  were 
plainly  seen.  Marcus  quickened  his  steps,  and  from  un- 
der the  bank  came  the  faint  cry  of  "Mama,  Mama." 

"Hallo,"  shouted  Marcus. 

There  was  no  answer,  but  the  child  ceased  its  crying. 

He  leaped  down  the  bank,  and  as  he  did  so,  a  woman 
started  to  her  feet.  She  had  a  child  in  her  arms.  In  the 
shelter  of  the  bank  sat  a  man.  His  knees  were  drawn  up 
and  his  head  rested  upon  them.  The  cart  lay  overturned 
under  the  bank. 

"Who  are  you?  What  is  the  matter?"  asked  Marcus 
hurriedly. 

The  woman  seemed  to  be  half  asleep.  The  man  did 
not  stir.  Marcus  saw  that  something  must  be  done  im- 
mediately. He  went  up  to  the  woman  and  shook  her  vio- 
lently. 

"Come,  you're  freezing  to  death  here.  Come,  wake 
up  and  move.  Our  camp  is  not  far  away." 


52  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

She  at  last  realized  her  position,  and  with  a  glad  cry 
began  to  talk  to  her  child.  She  shook  the  man  by  the 
shoulders. 

"Get  up,  John,"  she  said.  "Someone's  come  to  help 
us.  Camp's  not  far  off.  Come,  John,  0,  John,  get  up. 
We're  saved,  John— 0,  please  sir,  I'm  afraid  he's  gone. 
Help  me  get  him  up?  He's  freezing  to  death,— 0,  John, 
here's  help!" 

The  child  wailed  piteously,  and  the  mother  tried  to 
soothe  it  by  pressing  it  closely  to  her  breast.  Marcus 
pulled  off  his  coat  and  wrapped  it  around  the  child.  Then 
he  took  hold  of  the  man,  and  by  the  woman's  help,  they 
got  him  back  to  consciousness. 

Another  chance  for  life  nerved  the  woman  to 
strength.  She  helped  Marcus  right  the  cart,  and  then 
worked  diligently  with  her  husband,  who,  when  he  at  last 
realized  where,  he  was,  took  hold  of  the  cart  and  walked 
behind,  as  the  woman  and  Marcus  pulled  it  towards 
camp. 

The  woman  explained  in  a  few  broken  sentences  that 
they  had  somehow  become  separated  from  the  company, 
and  having  left  the  road,  the  cart  had  fallen  over  the 
bank.  They  had  tried  to  lift  it  up  again,  but  they  were 
both  so  weak  that  they  could  not.  Thus  they  had  waited 
for  help,  and  had  sat  down  to  rest,  which  would  have  been 
their  last  had  not  Marcus  come  to  their  assistance. 

When  within  hailing  distance  of  the  camp,  Marcus 
shouted,  and  a  guard  came  out  who  helped  them  into 
camp.  Marcus  took  them  to  his  tent  and  then  sent  for 
Janet  to  come  and  help  take  care  of  them.  By  the  light 
of  the  tent  lantern,  Marcus  saw  that  the  woman's  face 
was  familiar  to  him,  but  he  could  not  place  her.  After 


MARCUS  KING,"MORMON.  53 

they  had  been  made  as  comfortable  as  possible  he  asked 
her: 

" Where  have  I  seen  you  before?" 

"At  Hungerton.  My  name  is  Eliza  Dixon,  and  you 
are  Marcus  King." 

Such  was  the  case.  That  last  sermon  of  his  in  the 
Hungerton  church  had  moved  this  woman  to  investigate 
and  embrace  the  Gospel.  She  had  told  her  husband  and 
he  had  believed;  and  here  they  were  perishing  in  the  wil- 
derness. 

Next  morning  Marcus  went  to  the  captain's  tent  and 
said  to  him: 

"Those  people  I  brought  to  camp  last  night — well,  it 
will  be  impossible  for  them  to  go  on  with  their  hand-cart. 
The  man  can  hardly  walk  and  the  woman  is  not  much  bet- 
ter; and  then  the  child—" 

"Well,  Brother  King,  what  can  we  do?" 

"If  you  have  no  objection,  they  can  take  my  outfit, 
and  I  will  take  their  cart  and  go  on  with  the  hand-cart 
company." 

.  The  captain  tenderly  placed  his  hand  on  the  speaker's 
shoulder  and  said: 

"Do  you  know  what  a  sacrifice  that  would  mean  to 
you?" 

"I  think  so,  at  least,  partly;  but  I  cannot  do  other- 
wise." 

"Then  all  right,  and  may  the  Lord  be  with  you." 

When  Marcus  told  his  rescued  friends  of  his  purpose, 
at  first  they  cried  for  joy;  but  then,  when  they  understood 
its  full  meaning,  they  tried  to  prevail  on  him  not  to  do  so. 
It  would  be  too  great  a  sacrifice.  But  Marcus  was  firm  in 
his  purpose. 


54  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

Early  that  same  day  the  wagon  company  overtook  the 
hand- carts,  and  as  the  wagons  went  on  Marcus  stopped 
with  Jchn  Dixon's  hand-cart  in  ch«rge.  Janet  and  her 
mother  looked  mutely  at  him,  but  could  say  nothing;  and 
as  he  took  their  hands  to  say  good- by,  the  captain  came 
up.  Placing  one  hand  on  Janet's  shoulder  and  another  on 
Marcus',  he  said: 

"Brother  King,  by  this  shall  all  men  know  that  you 
are  a  disciple  of  Christ — you  have  the  true  sign,  the  true 
love  of  Christ.  God  bless  you." 

No  mortal  pen  can  fully  describe  that  hand-cart  jour- 
ney from  the  bleak  hills  of  Wyoming  to  the  valley  of  the 
Great  Salt  Lake;  and  the  pen  that  writes  these  words 
shall  not  attempt  it — but  just  a  word: 

Winter  came  on  in  all  its  fury,  and  through  the  snow 
and  sleet  the  poor  half-frozen,  half-starved  travelers 
dragged  their  carts  along.  Every  day  some  one  gave  up 
the  struggle,  and  was  laid  under  the  frozen  sod  by  the 
wayside  and  there  left.  Husbands  left  wives,  wives  left 
husbands,  parents  left  children,  and  children  left  parents 
— and  the  broken  remnant  still  struggled  westward.  They 
climbed  the  hills,  they  waded  the  freezing  streams.  The 
piercing  wind  blew  through  their  thread-bare  clothing. 
They  starved,  they  froze,  they  died.  Had  not  help  come 
from  the  valley,  they  would  all  have  surely  perished. 

Marcus  King  reached  the  lowest  possible  stage  of 
human  misery  and  suffering  on  that  journey;  but  he  had 
one  thought  which  sustained  him.  It  was  the  thought  of 
Christ  in  the  garden  and  on  tha  cross.  He  suffered  for 
others,  and  He  was  God's  Son.  Marcus,  in  a  way,  was 
following  in  his  Master's  footsteps.  "Take  up  thy  cross 
and  follow  me, "  rang  in  his  ears,  and  through  all  that 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  55 

desperate  struggle  for  existence  it  was  the  only  anchor  to 
his  soul.  And  yet  through  all  that  terrible  misery,  there 
was  a  peac3  in  his  breast.  Whence  it  came  Marcus  was 
in  no  state  to  reason  out;  but  afterwards  he  knew:  The 
performing  of  a  sublime  duty  carries  with  it  a  peace  of 
soul  which  surpasseth  understanding. 

********* 

A  beautiful  spring  morning  crept  over  the  rugged 
Wasatch  Mountains  and  into  the  valley  of  the  Great  Salt 
Lake,  as  Marcus  King  walked  slowly  up  the  path  wind- 
ing along  the  sage-brush  plains.  His  face  was  pale,  his 
features  pinched,  and  his  steps  were  those  of  a  sick  man. 
When  he  reached  the  bank  of  the  small  stream,  he  sat 
down  on  it,  bared  his  head,  and  sat  looking  out  over  the 
valley  towards  the  distant  mountains. 

Every  morning  for  a  week  he  had  taken  this  walk, 
and  it  had  done  him  much  good.  His  strength  was  com- 
ing back  to  him,  and  with  his  strength  came  renewed 
hopes  and  new  aspirations. 

Marcus  had  certainly  been  near  death's  door.  For 
two  months  since  his  arrival  he  had  been  hovering  between 
this  world  and  the  next,  and  one  more  experience  had 
been  added  to  him,  namely,  the  power  of  the  Priesthood. 
Time  and  again  the  Elders  of  the  Church  had  anointed 
him  with  oil  and  prayed  for  him,  and  instantly  he  had  felt 
that  once  more  he  had  been  snatched  from  the  hands  of 
the  destroyer.  It  had  surely  and  literally  been  a  battle 
between  life  and  death  with  him;  but  now  he  had  the  vic- 
tory, and  he  was  on  the  way  to  a  speedy  restoration  to 
his  usual  health. 

When  spring  came  at  last  and  he  could  get  out  of 
doors,  the  strangeness  of  the  country  came  more  forcibly 


56  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

to  him:  the  grand,  rugged,  treeless  mountains;  the  wild, 
bare  bench  lands;  and  the  marshes  near  the  lake.  In  his 
walk  that  spring  morning  he  counted  the  little,  low,  log 
huts  of  the  settlement  and  found  the  total  to  be  seven- 
teen; and  none  of  them  were  older  than  five  years.  They 
stood  on  both  sides  of  a  broad,  straight  street,  along  both 
sides  of  which  rows  of  trees  had  already  been  planted. 
As  yet,  little  of  the  surrounding  land  had  been  cleared  of 
the  gray  sagebrush.  The  small  garden  plats  by  the  side 
of  the  cabins  were  just  sprouting  out  into  long,  green 
rows. 

Marcus  went  back  home  quite  tired  that  morning.  He 
sat  down  on  a  bench  on  the  south  side  of  the  house  under  a 
roof  of  freshly-cut  willows  and  cottonwoods.  Eliza  Dixon 
was  busy  getting  breakfast.  Marcus  had  his  home  with 
John  and  Eliza,  and  they  had  done  for  him  all  that  loving 
hearts  could  devise  and  willing  hands  could  carry  out.  The 
poverty  of  that  winter  and  spring  is  well  known  in  history, 
and  these  people  suffered  with  the  rest. 

"I'm  going  to  help  you  plant  potatoes  this  afternoon, 
John,"  said  Marcus  to  his  friend  that  morning. 

*  'Are  you  strong  enough?" 

'I  can  do  a  little;  besides,  I  must  learn  to  be  a  far- 
mer. You  folks  don't  pay  me  anything  for  all  those 
sermons  I  preach  you,  and  so  I  must  make  my  living  at 
something  else."  He  still  tried  to  be  pleasant  and  make 
his  jokes. 

"Well,  if  you  want  to  begin,"  said  John,  "I'll  give 
you  something  easy."  From  the  house  he  brought  a 
sack  of  potatoes,  placed  them  on  the  bench  by  Marcus' 
side  and  proceeded  to  give  him  a  lesson  on  how  to  cut 
them  into  proper  sizes. 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  57 

"But  these  are  small  enough  as  they  are,  it  seems  to 
me,"  said  Marcus. 

"Yes;  but  we  must  make  them  reach  as  far  as  pos- 
sible. Now,  you'll  have  to  be  careful.  Have  no  more 
than  two  eyes  to  each  piece,  and  take  care  not  to  cut  an 
eye  so  that  it  will  be  spoiled." 

Just  as  Marcus  had  become  thoroughly  interested 
in  his  work,  Janet  Harmon  came  around  the  corner  of 
the  house.  She  carried  something  in  her  hands,  covered 
by  an  apron.  The  meeting  was  unexpected,  it  seemed,  as 
Janet  stopped  and  the  color  came  into  her  face.  Janet 
had  also  changed.  Wind  and  weather  had  played  sad 
havoc  with  her  clear,  beautiful  skin.  The  round  face 
was  peaked  and  the  large  eyes  seemed  sunken.  Her  hair 
hung  in  two  long  braids  down  her  back. 

'  'Good  morning,  Janet,  I  thought  you  had  gone  to  the 
city." 

"Yes;  but  I've  come  back;  and  I  thought  you  went — 
you  take  a  walk  every  morning  about  this  time." 

"Yes;  but  I  also  came  back,  you  see."  They  laughed. 

"Are  you  peeling  potatoes  for  dinner?"  she  asked. 
"Where  do  you  get  such  luxuries?" 

1  'Oh,  these  are  not  to  cook,  but  to  plant.  I  was  just 
thinking,  Janet,  if  I  had  all  the  potato  peeling  that 
our  cook  at  Hungerton  used  to  provide  for  her  pig,  what 
a  big  field  of  potatoes  I  could  plant.  I  wonder  if  peel- 
ings would  grow,  anyway?" 

Janet  stepped  in  at  the  open  door,  placed  what  was 
under  the  apron  on  the  table,  and  then,  as  Eliza  was  not 
in,  she  went  back  to  Marcus. 

"Sit  down,"  he  said,  "and  tell  me  all  the  news." 

She  handed  him  two  letters,  both  from  his  mother, 


58  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

and  he  read  them  aloud  to  her.  They  were  not  very 
cheering  letters.  The  mother  still  considered  herself  dis- 
graced by  her  son's  action.  Still  she  felt  sure  that  every- 
body would  forgive  him  even  yet  if  he  was  alive  and  could 
get  back.  Alice  had  been  to  see  her,  and  had  stayed  with 
her  much  of  the  time  during  the  winter.  Alice  was  a 
great  comfort  to  her.  She  never  mentioned  his  name, 
but  still,  through  all  the  trying  ordeal  the  girl  loved  her 
wayward  son. 

"Poor  mother,  and  poor  Alice,"  and  that  was  about 
all  he  could  say. 

The  potatoes  were  neglected  for  a  few  moments. 
Then -he  turned  to  the  girl  at  his  side  and  said; 

"Janet,  you  should  have  seen  Alice.  You  ought  to 
be  acquainted  with  her.  I  know  you  would  have  liked 
her;  you  couldn't  help  it,  no  more  than  I  can  help  loving 
her  yet.  She's  the  sweetest  and  best— but  there,  I've 
told  you  that  so  often  before." 

Janet  rose  hurriedly. 

"I'm  glad  to  see  you  so  well,  Brother  King,  and  I 
hope  you'll  soon  recover  entirely.  Goodby." 

In  a  moment  she  was  away,  and  Marcus  soon  went  to 
work  again.  When  Eliza  called  him  to  breakfast,  he  sat 
down  as  usual  on  his  own  raw-hide  chair,  and  when  he 
raised  his  head  after  the  blessing  he  caught  sight  of  the 
extra  bowl  by  the  side  of  his  plate. 

"Hello,  what's  this?"  he  exclaimed,  as  he  peered 
into  it.  "Pudding,  rice  pudding!  Can  I  believe  my 
eyes?" 

"If  you  doubt  them,  try  your  palate,"  said  Eliza. 

"But  where  did  you  get  your  rice?  And  I  verily  be- 
lieve there  are  rasins  in  it." 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  59 

"Janet  brought  it,"  said  she. 

"Ah,  I  see.  This  is  what  she  had  under  her  apron. 
Janet's  a  good  soul,  isn't  she." 

"I  think  Janet's  a  good  girl." 

"Well,  I'm  going  to  taste  this,"  said  Marcus. 

"Oh,  it's  yours. 

'  'Not  all  of  it,  I'm  not  quite  that  greedy." 

uBut  Janet  brought  it  for  you." 

"You  don't  know  that.  You  were  out.  Here,  each 
must  have  a  taste;"  and  amid  protestations,  Marcus  di- 
vided the  tasty  morsel  between  them. 

That  afternoon  Marcus  planted  in  the  plowed  furrow 
the  potatoes  he  had  cut.  He  was  very  careful  to  place 
them  with  the  eye  side  up  and  exactly  eighteen  inches 
apart.  While  John  plowed  them  under,  Marcus  rested. 
The  cut  potatoes  brought  his  thoughts  back  to  the  potato 
peelings,  and  they  in  a  long  string  led  him  to  Hungerton 
and  into  the  kitchen  of  the  parsonage.  From  the  cook  to 
his  mother,  and  from  his  mother  to  Aline  was  a  natural 
channel  of  thought:  but  how  his  mind  leaped  from  Alice 
Merton  to  rice  puddings  can  never  be  explained  by  any 
known  law  of  psychology.  From  rice  puddings  to  Janet 
Harmon  was  an  easy  stage,  coming  so  closely  on  the 
scenes  of  the  morning. 

Marcus  sat  on  the  upturned  bucket  used  in  carrying 
potatoes,  and  thought  about  these  things.  He  knew  now 
that  Janet  thought  well  of  him.  What  was  the  use  of 
trying  to  hide  the  fact.  He  now  remembered  many  little 
scenes  which  were  unmistakable,  ever  since  he  had  met 
her  in  their  camp  on  the  plains;  but  strange  as  it  may 
seem,  the  plain  truth  was  that  he  had  not  thought  of 
Janet  as  a  prospective  wife.  She  who  had  all  the  time 


60  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

held  that  position  was  back  in  Hungerton.  She  still  held 
it  without  a  rival.  His  love  for  Alice  was  as  strong  as 
ever,  and  during  all  his  strange  experiences  of  the  recent 
past,  she  had  been  the  sole  queen  of  his  heart.  He  had 
not  reasoned  much  on  the  matter,  or  he  might  have  seen 
the  utter  foolishness  of  retaining  any  hope  of  Alice;  but 
once  or  twice  that  little  scene  in  his  study,  that  last  one 
with  her,  came  to  him  and  he  heard  himself  say: 

"You  are  mine,  mine!" 

It  is  a  slow  process  to  direct  the  channels  of  thought 
into  entirely  new  regions,  but  Marcus  began  to  think  very 
kindly  of  his  sister  in  the  cause.  Can  a  young  man  be 
entirely  unmoved  when  he  finds  that  a  good,  fair,  young 
woman  cares  much  for  him? 

"All  right,  Marcus,  we're  through,"  shouted  John. 
"Let's  go  to  the  house." 

Marcus  nearly  fell  off  the  bucket.  While  he  had 
been  soliloquizing,  John  had  planted  and  plowed  until  the 
work  was  finished,  and  he  had  said  never  a  word  to  the 
man  on  the  bucket. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Sometimes  as  early  as  July  the  Wasatch  Mountains 
are  clothed  in  the  Indian  summer  mist,  thin  and  blue, 
making  an  idyl-land  of  the  deep  ravines,  the  towering 
crags,  the  pine-clad  recesses,  and  the  bold  promontories. 
Such  was  that  afternoon  when  Marcus,  leading  little  Ida 
Dixon  by  the  hand,  walked  up  the  hillside  to  get  a  better 
view.  From  the  bold,  rugged  outlines  of  the  rear  moun- 
tains his  eye  followed  their  trend  northward  to  where 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  61 

they  seemed  to  sink  lower  and  lower,  and  the  gray  veiling 
became  thicker,  until  at  last  the  blue  sky  and  the  smoke- 
covered  earth  blended. 

Little  Ida  ran  hither  and  thither  hunting  for  the  few 
wild  flowers  which  sometimes  were  found  in  the  shaded 
protection  of  the  sage-brush;  but  his  eyes  were  on  the 
mountains.  Never  before  had  nature  so  entered  his  soul 
or  communed  so  plainly  with  him.  The  cabins  of  the  set- 
tlement were  hidden  behind  a  hill,  so  that  whichever  way 
he  looked,  not  a  sign  of  human  habitation  or  human  work- 
manship could  be  seen.  He  was  utterly  alone,  save  the 
little  child  that  toddled  beside  him. ' 

Marcus  was  now  well  and  quite  strong.  His  face 
was  no  longer  pale,  but  browned  by  the  sharp  wind  and 
sun.  He  certainly  had  changed  much  since  he  had  left 
Hungerton;  and  that  difference  was  as  marked  as  the  dif- 
ference between  the  gentle,  gr^ss- covered  hills  of  his 
native  state  and  the  element- beaten  mountains  before 
him. 

From  out  some  lonely  recess  of  the  hills  came  the 
mournful  notes  of  the  wild  pigeon.  Who,  being  alone  in 
the  hills,  and  hearing  those  peculiarly  penetrating 
cadences  echoing  from  some  unseen  source,  has  not  sat 
down  on  the  ground,  and  felt  as  though  he  could  stay 
there  forever!  And  if,  perchance  the  emotions  within 
swelled  and  overflowed  in  tears,  those  tears  were  not 
wholly  of  joy,  neither  of  sorrow,  but  of  some  strange  fas- 
cinating emotion  that  stirred  the  soul  to  its  depths! 

Little  Ida  also  sat  on  the  ground,  but  she  had  no 
deeper  concern  than  to  arrange  her  flowers.  They  both 
sat  on  the  hillside;  the  creek  of  cold  water  tumbled  over 
its  rocky  bed  in  the  ravine  below.  Presently  a  cow  came 


62  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

down  the  path  along  the  stream,  and  following  it  came 
Janet  Harmon.  She  carried  her  sunbonnet  in  her  hand, 
regardless  of  the  hot  sun.  Her  dress  was  of  many- times 
washed  and  patched  calico;  her  shoes  were  ragged. 

Marcus  shouted  to  her  from  the  hillside,  and  she 
paused  and  looked  up. 

''Wait  a  moment,  Janet;  I  want  to  talk  to  you,"  he 
said. 

"I  must  take  the  cow  home." 

"You're  not  in  a  great  hurry,  are  you?" 

"No — but — "  and  the  girl  looked  down  at  her  shoes 
and  dress.  Marcus  saw  the  act. 

"Then  let  the  cow  feed  on  that  grass  by  the  creek. 
I  want  to  talk  to  somebody." 

"You  have  Ida." 

"Come,  here's  a  green  bank.  Ida  is  busy  with  her 
flowers.  Janet,  don't  be  uneasy  about  how  you  look  in 
your  costume.  We  understand  each  other.  We  under- 
stand our  conditions,  and  we  know  that  we  are  the  same 
beings  whether  we  are  in  silks  or  broadcloths  or  in  rags. 
What  difference  can  a  piece  of  cloth  make  in  the  intrinsic 
value  of  a  man  or  a  woman  ?'' 

"You  are  right,"  she  said.  "I  am  foolish  to  care 
about  such  things,  but  habit  and  life  training  aie  not  easy 
to  change." 

Willows  lined  the  bank  of  the  creek,  and  they  sat  in 
their  shade.  Ida  neglected  her  flowers  and  began  weav- 
ing a  necklace  of  wiregrass.  Janet  threw  off  her  sun- 
bonnet,  and  Marcus  fanned  his  face  with  his  old  straw 
hat.  The  croek  splashed  musically  by,  and  the  cow  was 
perfectly  satisfied. 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  63 

"What  did  you  want  to  say  to  me?"  Janet  asked 
after  the  pause  had  been  long  enough. 

"Oh,  I  just  wanted  to  talk  to  someone.  To  think  to 
one's  self  doesn't  give  the  satisfaction  that  talking  does. 
These  rough  mountains,  the  hazy  air,  and  all  this  wildness 
seem  to  affect  me  today.  Janet,  this  is  wonderful,  isn't 
it?" 

"What,  the  scenery?" 

"No;  I  mean  our  life  here,  or  history  for  the  past 
yoar.  Think  of  it!  la  college  educated  man,  a  re- 
spected minister  and  preacher,  and  now  here!  You,  whose 
life  seemed  to  be  opening  up  so  gloriously,  to  be  sur- 
rounded by  wealth  and  culture,  ease  and  comfort,  and 
now  you  are  here  also,  living  in  a  log  house  with  a  dirt 
roof  and  a  mud  floor,  subsisting  on  the  scantiest  and 
coarsest  of  food,  and  thinking  a  rice  pudding  altogether 
too  precious  to  eat  yourself." 

Remember,  Janet's  hair  was  red;  her  cheeks  were  of 
the  same  color  now. 

"I  wonder  if  we  have  made  a  mistake,  Janet." 

She  looked  him  in  the  face  to  see  if  he  meant  it.  "I 
haven't,"  she  saicf. 

"No;  neither  of  us  has.  This  Gospel  of  Christ  is 
worth  it  all.  We  have  had  many  testimonies,  and  I  can 
see  more  clearly  every  day  the  true  meaning  of  life. 
Mormonism  is  in  close  touch  with  nature.  We  Mormons 
are  pretty  well  nature's  children." 

"Yes,  especially  until  we  can  get  s^me  factories 
started,"  said  Janet,  looking  at  a  great  rend  in  her  shoe. 

"I  don't  mean  that  at  all,"  he  laughed.  "I  mean 
that  there  is  a  strikingly  close  relationship  between  Mor- 
monism and  the  known  laws  of  nature;  and  also  I  see  now 


64  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

that  we  as  God's  children  must  learn  a  great  many  lessons 
in  nature's  school.  In  this  school  God  is  the  Master. 
Whatever  He  provides  is  true  religion,  and  true  religion 
is  Mormonism." 

"I've  thought  of  the  same  thing,"  said  Janet,  as  she 
reached  up  and  pulled  down  a  willow.  "Who  would  ever 
have  dreamed  two  years  ago  that  I  should  spin  yarn,  knit 
stockings,  sew  carpet  rags,  wash,  bake,  (though  I  haven't 
done  much  baking  lately)  scrub,  drive  cows,  milk,  churn, 
and  delight  in  buttermilk — but  now  that's  my  life  as 
though  I  had  been  born  and  raised  to  it." 

The  cow  was  out  of  sight  now  and  Janet  arose  to 
look  for  it.  Ida  lay  asleep  on  the  grass.  Marcus  lifted 
her  in  his  arms  and  they  went  do»vn  the  road.  Soon  the 
settlement  came  into  view.  The  sun  was  low  in  the  west. 
A  covered  wagon  left  a  trail  of  dust  through  the  street. 
The  voices  of  playing  children  came  to  them  through  the 
still  afternoon  air. 

"You  must  remember,"  he  said,  "that  we  are  pio- 
neers. Here,  if  any  place  on  the  globe,  is  the  primeval 
earth.  We  are  the  beginners.  Everything  around  us  is 
glaringly  new.  We  find  no  ancient  marks  of  ancestry,  no 
shrines  made  sacred  by  centuries  of  human  experiences. 
Here  are  no  crumbling  walls  overgrown  with  ivy;" 

"Here  is  nothing  except  that  which  we  make  with  our 
own  hands,"  she  added. 

"You  put  it  exactly.  If  we  want  grass,  we  must 
sow  it  and  then  water  it.  If  we  want  a  tree,  we  must 
plant  it.  If  we  want  a  house,  we  must  build  it.  But, 
Janet,  we  are  empire  founders.  There  will  be  some  glory 
in  that." 

"After  we  are  dead." 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  65 

"Yes;  certainly;  perhaps  it  will  be  a  long  time  after 
also;  but  ours  is  a  quick  age  and  who  can  tell  even  what 
one  hundred  years  will  bring!" 

They  turned  into  the  street.  The  cow  had  already 
found  the  corral. 

uDo  you  see  that  pile  of  logs?"  asked  Marcus,  point- 
ing to  the  side  of  the  road.  "Well,  that's  my  lot,  and 
I'm  going  to  start  on  a  house  tomorrow." 

"You  have  a  good  location,"  said  she. 

A  horseman  came  galloping  toward  them.  In  his 
hurried  ride  he  passed  them  before  they  recognized  that 
it  was  a  young  man  of  the  settlement.  He  reined  in  his 
horse,  rode  back  and  said: 

"Have  you  heard  the  news?" 

''What  news,  Ted?" 

"Why,  about  the  army.  The  President  of  the  United 
States  has  send  an  army  to  Utah  to  straighten  us  out." 

"Impossible — it  must  be  a  mistake." 

"No;  the  soldiers  are  on  the  road  already." 

"But  what  have  we  done?" 

"Done?  Well,  ask  dad.  He  was  in  Nauvoo,"  and 
the  young  man  put  spurs  to  his  horse  and  went  on  with 
his  message. 

"I  must  hurry  home  to  mother,"  said  Janet  nervous- 
ly; and  when  Marcus  set  little  Ida  down  in  the  road  and 
took  Janet's  hand  to  say  goodnight,  he  looked  into  her 
troubled  face. 

'Do  not  fear,  Janet;"  he  meant  to  speak  some  rjeas- 
suring  word  but  he  could  find  nothing  better  than;  "I  shall 
come  over  tonight.  Take  care  of  mother." 


66  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

The  man  whom  Marcus  had  engaged  to  help  him  build 
his  house  came  next  morning  with  his  ax  and  saw. 

"I  did  not  expect  you,  Brother  Wood, "  said  Marcus. 
"We'll  have  no  need  for  houses  if  an  army  is  coming  to 
kill  us  off." 

Brother  Wood  was  a  frontiersman.  He  had  been 
through  most  of  the  experiences  of  the  Church.  He  had 
built  for  himself  two  houses  in  Missouri,  one  in  Illinois, 
and  a  number  at  the  temporary  stopping  places  across  the 
plains;  and  now  there  were  three  which  he  had  built  in  the 
settlement.  He  was  an  expert  at  constructing  log  houses, 
and  he  was  not  going  to  be  stopped  in  his  work  because 
some  soldiers  were  reported  to  be  on  the  march  to  Utah. 

"Never  you  fear,  Brother  King,"  said  he  as  he  ran 
his  fingers  through  his  gray  beard.  "I've  seen  lots  of 
soldiers  before,  and  I  don't  count  much  on  these  no  how. 
I  heard  Brother  Brigham  say  that  if  our  enemies  would 
leave  us  alone  for  ten  years,  we'd  ask  no  odds  of  'em.  It's 
ten  years  ago  since  he  said  that.  I  think  the  Lord  '11 
tend  to  these  fellers.  Are  ycu  readj  to  go  to  work?" 

"Well,  yes;  but  you  see  I  thought  I'd  wait  and  see 
how  it  turned  out;  but  if  you  say  so,  I'm  with  you." 

So  that  morning  Marcus  King's  inheritance  had  a  be- 
ginning. The  stones  for  the  corners  were  leveled,  and 
the  first  round  of  logs  laid  on  them.  It  was  to  be  a  two- 
roomed  house,  of  good  proportions  with  a  "lean-to"  at  the 
back. 

"I've  been  wonderin'  all  morning,"  said  the  master 
mechanic,  '  'what  you're  wantin'  with  such  a  tony  house 
as  this,  but  now  I  see.  You're  goin'  to  git  married.'' 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  67 

"Oh  no;  you're  mistaken,  Brother  Wood.  I  haven't 
been  thinking  of  that  at  all." 

'That's  what  all  young  fellers  say;  but  you  can't  fool 
me.  Janet's  a  mighty  fine  young  wcman,  even  if  she  has 
red  hair." 

"But  you  are  really  mistaken  about  that." 

"Do  you  mean  to  tell  me  that  you're  not  goin'  to 
marry  Janet  Harmon?" 

"I  have  no  such  intentions  at  present." 

"Then  all  I  can  say  to  you  is  that  you're  actin'  pretty 
foolish  in  sparkin'  the  gal;''  and  the  speaker  went  on  with 
his  sawing. 

"Is  the  impression  out  that  Janet  and  I  are  keeping 
company,  Brother  Wood?" 

"Ob,  I  don't  know  what  other  people  think.  But  I've 
got  ears  and  eyes,  and  I  can  tell  you,  young  man,  that  if 
you  don't  marry  Janet,  there'll  be  a  good  heart  broken — 
why  don't  you  git  married,  anyway?  There's  no  sense  in 
a  young  feller  like  you  goin'  around  single,  when  there's 
a  dozen  girls  right  here  in  this  settlement  just  achin'  to 
git  you." 

Marcus  laughed  at  that.  But  after  all  he  could  not 
help  thinking  about  the  man's  remarks  about  Janet.  Of 
course  he  could  marry  her,  he  liked  her  well  enough,  but 
there  was  Alice,  and  his  vow,  or  prophecy — whatever  he 
might  cdl  it.  It  teemed  to  stand  as  a  bar  between  him 
and  any  other  woman.  If  he  had  been  unwise  towards 
Janet,  it  ought  perhaps,  to  cease,  and  in  the  future  he 
would  be  more  careful.  Janet  had  had  trouble  enough 
already,  and  so  had  he — he  could  sympathize  with  her. 
***** 

History  has  dealt  fully  with  the  events  in  Utah  dur- 


68  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

ing  that  period  when  the  troops  of  the  United  States 
marched  into  her  peaceful  settlements  to  put  down  an 
imaginary  revolt,  and  this  personal  narrative  will  not  to 
any  extent  dwell  on  these  scenes.  Some  time  a  great 
poet  will  find  ample  material  for  his  songs  in  the  scenes 
of  those  days.  Some  day  a  great  writer  will  find  all  he 
needs  in  the  heart  histories  of  those  trying  hours. 

When  the  people  had  decided  to  defend  themselves, 
there  were  hurried  preparations  in  all  the  settlements 
north  and  south.  Old  muskets,  swords,  and  pistols  were 
brought  out  and  cleaned.  Those  who  had  any  knowledge 
of  military  tactics  drilled  the  awkward  squads  of  farmers. 
Marcus  would  have  gone  to  Echo  canyon,  but  it  was 
decided  that  John  Dixon  would  be  better  able  to  stand 
the  hardships  of  the  winter,  so  Marcus  stayed  at  home. 
It  is  well  known  how  the  troops  wintered  in  the  bleak 
mountains,  and  that  in  the  spring  they  came  marching 
into  Salt  Lake  valley;  how  when  they  entered  the  villages 
they  found  them  deserted;  and  how,  after  quartering  in 
the  territory  for  some  time,  they  marched  back  again  to 
the  more  bloody  fields  of  the  South. 

It  was  no  great  trial  to  Marcus  to  move  south.  It 
was  far  worse  for  some  who  had  large  families,  and  who 
had  had  only  a  short  rest,  as  it  were,  from  their  wander- 
ings. Janet's  mother  cried  when  she  left  her  little  cabin. 

"I  thought  I  might  have  laid  my  bones  down  in 
peace,"  she  sobbed. 

But  there  was  no  great  hardship  in  that  excursion 
south,and  when  they  all  came  back  again  in  July  and  began 
to  occupy  their  homes  and  work  as  usual,many  looked  upon 
it  as  a  little  out  that  had  done  them  good.  With  new 
energy  they  digged  and  built,  planted  and  harvested. 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  69 

God  smiled  in  favor  upon  them,  and  they  prospered  in  the 

land  as  never  before. 

*  ****** 

The  settlement  where  Marcus  King  located  soon 
extended  its  borders  and  received  the  name  of  Hernia. 
Other  streets  were  added  to  the  east  and  to  the  west  of 
the  main  one;  then  cross  streets  were  surveyed,  cutting 
the  place  into  square  blocks.  New  settlers  kept  coming 
in,  and  more  land  was  broken  and  planted.  The  water 
ditches  were  enlarged  and  extended.  Then  a  store  was 
built  where  general  merchandise  was  to  be  had,  hauled 
from  the  Missouri  River  by  wagons.  Prices  were  high,  it 
may  be  believed. 

The  winter  following  the  move,  Marcus  taught  school 
in  Hernia.  Two  departments  were  organized.  One  was 
a  primary,  over  which  Janet  Harmon  presided;  the  more 
advanced  was  in  charge  of  Marcus.  Marcus  invited  all 
who  desired  to  attend,  and  many  married  people  took  advan- 
tage of  the  opportunity  to  add  to  their  limited  store  of  book 
learning.  In  the  evening  he  taught  an  advanced  class. 
This  work,  and  especially  the  evening  classes,  brought 
Marcus  somewhat  back  to  his  former  atmosphere,  with 
the  great  difference  in  his  favor  of  knowing  that  what  he 
was  teaching  was  the  truth,  and  having  the  blessed  assur- 
ance of  a  satisfied  conscience,  and  of  doing  a  noble  work 
in  the  community.  The  lack  of  books  and  the  scarcity  of 
aids  in  teaching  taxed  the  instructors  to  the  utmost,  but 
when  spring  came,  and  all  who  could  work  must,  all 
agreed  that  the  winter  had  been  spent  most  profitably. 
Janet,  however,  continued  to  meet  with  her  flock  of  chil- 
dren and  give  them  a  daily  lesson  on  the  blackboard  in  the 
school  house. 


70  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

One  Sunday  morning  in  early  May,  the  people  of 
Hernia  were  unusually  active.  President  Brigham  Young 
and  some  of  the  leading  brethren  were  coming  to  hold 
meeting  that  day.  It  was  a  habit  of  the  great  leader  to 
travel  from  settlement  to  settlement  among  the  people, 
setting  the  Church  in  order,  organizing  quorums,  layL.g 
out  townsites,  selecting  sites  for  tabernacles  and  temples, 
and  planning  irrigation  canals.  His  visits  were  always 
hailed  with  delight,  and  early  that  morning  the  children 
of  Hernia  had  been  to  the  hills  to  gather  the  few  early 
flowers  with  which  to  decorate  themselves.  The  old  bow- 
ery from  last  year  had  been  repaired  the  day  before. 

At  nine  o'clock  the  president's  carriage  was  seen 
coming  down  the  road,  and  soon  the  children  toik  their 
position  in  lines  on  each  side  of  the  street.  As  he  rode 
through,  he  smiled  and  bowed  to  them,  and  they  waved 
their  flowers.  The  people  soon  began  to  gather  under 
the  bowery  by  the  side  of  the  meeting  house.  The  plank 
benches  were  hard  and  without  any  backs,  but  many  of 
the  older  people  came  early  to  get  a  seat  in  front. 

Mavcus  was  only  slightly  acquainted  with  the  presi- 
d"  nt,  but  as  Brother  Brigham  walked  up  to  the  stand  he 
stopped  and  chatled  with  the  young  man  for  a  few  mom- 
ents. Then  they  all  sarg: 

"0  ye  mountains  high, 

Where  the  clear  blue  sky 

Arches  over  the  vales  of  the  free." 

The  president  talked  to  them  about  the  recent  trials 
which  the  Church  had  been  called  to  pass  through;  said 
that  it  had  already  proved  a  great  blessing  to  them;  they 
could  now  look  forward  to  a  steady  growth  both  in  tem- 
poral and  spiritual  affairs;  and  gave  much  good  advice. 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  71 

Some  other  speakers  followed  and  the  meeting  closed  for 
noon. 

In  the  afternoon  the  president  occupied  nearly  all  the 
time. 

.  Marcus  bad  never  heard  such  a  sermon.  It  was  not 
a  rhetorically  or  logically  arranged  sermon,  but  it  thrilled 
him  nevertheless.  He  got  a  striking  example  of  one  who 
speaks,  not  as  the  Pharisees,  but  as  one  having  authority. 
Towards  its  close  the  president  said:  "Now,  my  brethren 
and  sisters,  this  branch  has  been  in  a  somewhat  disorgan- 
ized condition;  and  as  it  is,  you  are  laboring  under  disad- 
vantages. You  are  now  large  enough  to  have  a  full  ward 
organization,  and  we  intend  this  afternoon  to  present  to  you 
the  name  of  a  man  to  be  your  bishop.  He  can  then 
choose  his  counselors,  and  they  can  complete  the  organi- 
zation. Brother  Thomas  has  been  presiding  temporarilly, 
and  he  has  done  his  duty  as  far  as  I  can  find  out.  My 
mind  has  been  free  and  open  to  the  suggestions  of  the 
Spirit  as  to  whom  I  should  name  as  your  bishop.  Until  I 
walked  up  to  this  stand  this  afternoon  I  was  in  doubt,  but 
now  I  know." 

At  such  news,  the  congregation  naturally  became 
extremely  attentive  and  expectant.  Some  had  thought 
that  a  bishop  would  be  presented  to  the  meeting,  but 
whom  the  man  would  be  they  could  not  tell.  Half  a  dozen 
names  had  been  mentioned,  and  among  them  Elder 
Thomas,  who  had  presided  thus  far;  but  he  was  a  very 
"slow"  man,  .and  it  was  doubtful  if  he  would  be  named. 

*  'Brother  Marcus  King,"  said  the  president,"  will 
you  please  come  to  the  stand?" 

There  was  a  murmur  of  voices  as  Marcus  walked  up 
to  the  platform.  Marcus  hkiself  had  no  clear  idea  of 
what  was  coming. 


72  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

"This  is  the  man  the  Spirit  has  told  me  to  name  as 
your  bishop.  Brother  King,  tell  us  what  you  think  of  it;" 
and  the  president  sat  down,  leaving  Marcus  to  face  the 
meeting.  The  audience  became  a  blur  to  him.  His  head 
seemed  to  reel  for  an  instant.  The  suddenness  of  the  sit- 
uation had  nearly  stunned  him.  He  stepped  up  to  the 
table  and  said: 

"Brethren  and  sisters,  this  is  as  great  a  surprise  to 
me  as  it  is  to  you.  My  own  feelings  cry  'no,  no/  but  duty 
tells  me  I  have  no  right  to  say  that.  I  am  willing  to  try 
anything  that  God  or  His  servants  may  call  me  to,  with 
the  help  of  the  Lord.  Amen." 

He  sat  down,  and  the  president  arose. 

"All  who  favor  Brother  King  as  y)ur  bishop  and  will 
support  him  with  your  faith,  your  prayers,  and  your 
works,  make  it  manifest  by  raising  the  right  hand." 

Every  hand  went  up. 

1  'And  now,"  continued  the  president,  "there  is  an- 
other thing.  I  understand  that  Brother  King  is  not  a 
married  man.  It  is  hardly  the  proper  thing  for  your 
bishop  to  set  you  such  a  bad  example;  and  Brother  King," 
turning  around  to  him,  "I  charge  you  to  get  a  wife,  or 
two  if  you  like,  as  soon  as  possible." 

At  the  close  of  the  meeting,  as  friends  shook  his 
hand,  Marcus  saw  Janet  glide  quietly  past  him  and  away 
before  he  could  reach  her. 


CHAPTER  X. 

While  at  school  Marcus  remembered  having  read  the 
saying  of  Paul  to  Timothy,  that  "if  a  man  desire  the  of- 
fice of  a  bishop,  he  desireth  a  good  work."  He  had  asso- 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  73 

dated  the  passage  with  his  knowledge  of  bishops  as  he 
saw  them  in  the  various  denominations.  Then  he  had 
agreed  with  Paul.  His  highest  ambition  would  certainly 
be  reached,  thought  he,  if  he  ever  attained  to  that  lofty 
position.  But  now  he  was  a  bishop,  a  real  bishop  in  the 
Church  of  Christ.  And  how  different  it  was  to  what  his 
idea  had  been!  He  was  simply  the  ecclesiastical  head  of 
possibly  a  hundred  souls,  poor  and  struggling  in  a  new 
country  to  make  a  living;  and  he  was  one  of  them,  work- 
ing daily  in  the  fields  for  his  own  support. 

Though  the  new  bishop  was  young,  yet  he  was  well 
liked  by  all.  His  counselors  were  much  older  than  he, 
and  so  all  classes  were  satisfied  with  the  arrangement. 
Marcus  took  hold  of  his  office  with  a  vim,  and  soon  had 
everything  in  the  ward  in  good  working  order.  Of  course 
a  few  objected  to  some  of  his  ''new-fangled  ways"  as  they 
called  them,  and  said  that  he  was  too  new  from  the  sec- 
tarian pulpit;  but  these  grumblers  were  not  many. 

Naturally,  there  was  much  talk  of  what  Brother  Brig- 
ham  had  said  to  Marcus  about  his  getting  married.  Many 
were  the  jokes  at  his  expense,  but  he  laughed  them  all  away. 
Of  course,  he  meant  to  marry,  he  said,  but  he  must  be 
given  time  to  think  about  such  a  serious  matter. 

Though  he  would  say  it  in  a  jocular  way,  he  thought 
about  it  earnestly  enough;  and  Alice  was  in  his  mind  all 
the  time.  During  the  "Echo  Canyon  War"  the  mails  had 
been  very  irregular,  and  news  from  Hungerton  tad  been 
scarce.  He  had  written  but  one  letter  to  Alice,  but  that 
had  never  been  answered.  She  might  never  have  received 
it,  however,  and  that  spring — it  was  after  he  had  become 
bishop— he  had  written  he*  again,  and  sent  her  some  new 
Mormon  literature.  In  his  last  letter  to  his  mother  he 


74  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

had  asked  about  Alice,  but  he  heard  nothing  from  her 
through  that  source,  Alice  having  left  Mrs.  King  some 
time  during  the  winter.  . 

It  was  middle  of  the  summer  before  Marcus  received 
more  letters  from  the  East.  One  was  from  his  mother, 
but  none  from  Alice.  His  mother  had  been  very  sick,  was 
quite  weak  at  that  writing,  and  she  told  him  not  to  be  sur- 
prised if  she  wrote  no  more  to  him.  "As  regards  Alice 
Merton,"  she  wrote,  "since  she  left  Hungerton  I  have  not 
heard  much  from  her.  She  has  lost  all  interest  in  me,  I 
fear.  You  remember  I  told  you  of  her  father's  financial 
failures,  and  ho\\  his  business  here  has  been  closed.  They 
are  now  living  on  their  farm  some  distance  from  town; 
but,  as  I  said,  I  hear  scarcely  anything  from  them.  The 
last  time  I  saw  Alice  she  was  driving  in  that  old  one- 
horse  buggy  of  theirs,  and  there  was  a  young  fellow  with 
her.  It  is  rumored  that  they  are  quite  intimate.  Well, 
Alice  is  getting  over  her  girl  days,  and  I  can  not  blame 
her  for  getting  married  if  she  has  a  good  offer;  but  I  had 
such  hopes,  Marcus — Alice  is  such  a  good  girl— but  there, 
what's  the  use  of  my  writing  of  such  matters.  You  no 
doubt  care  very  little  for  her  now,  and  there  are  plenty 
of  girls  in  your  town  any  one  of  whom  would  gladly  marry 
the  new  bishop." 

On  the  whole,  it  was  a  depressing  letter.  Marcus 
worried  considerably  over  its  contents  both  as  regards  his 
mother  and  Alice.  He  might  have  to  give  up  Alice,  after 
all.  At  least,  he  could  see  no  way  by  which  she  would 
ever  become  his  wife,  unless  the  hand  of  Providence  over- 
ruled in  a  miraculous  manner;  but  that  she  should  be  the 
wife  of  another  hurt  him  sadly,  pnd  he  obtained  no  p?ace 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  75 

of  mind  on  that  matter  until  he  had  gone  to  the  All-wise 
and  All- merciful  and  poured  out  his  heart  to  Him. 

Meanwhile,  Janet  was  in  Salt  Lake  City.  She  had 
gone  there  directly  after  Marcus  had  been  made  Bishop, 
and  had  visited  Hernia  but  a  few  times  since.  Marcus  had 
neglected  Janet.  Being  so  occupied  with  his  new  duties, 
he  had  thought  little  about  her.  Now  he  realized  that  he 
had  been  negligent,  and  it  became  all  the  more  glaring 
when  considered  with  the  fact  that  Janet  had  been  so  de- 
voted to  him.  If  he  must  settled  down  to  a  married  life, 
he  knew  of  none  better  suited  to  him  than  Janet.  He  did 
not  try  to  deceive  himself.  He  did  not  love  Janet  Har- 
mon as  he  loved  Alice  Merton;  but  he  thought  a  great 
deal  of  her,  that  was  certain. 

And  now  rumors  came  to  him  about  Janet  in  the  city: 
She  ''kept  company"  with  a  man  who  was  not  doing  right, 
but  was  quarreling  with  the  authorities  of  the  Church . 
Marcus  tried  to  see  her  on  a  number  of  his  trips  to  the 
city,  but  he  had  failed.  He  did  not  place  n,uch  reliance  in 
this  talk,  as  he  knew  Janet  and  her  opinions  too  well  to 
suspect  such  things  of  her. 

One  evening  Marcus  called  on  Sister  Harmon  to  in- 
quire about  Janet.  The  sister  was  knitting  in  the  open 
doorway,  at  the  same  time  watching  the  light  fade  from 
the  western  sky.  She  had  aged  much  in  the  few  years 
she  had  been  in  the  West,  and  lately  her  health  was  fail- 
ing. It  certainly  seemed  likely  that  she  soon  would  have 
her  wish  fulfilled  as  regards  laying  down  her  bones  in 
Zion. 

Marcus  would  not  take  the  chair  which  she  had  vac- 
ated for  him,  but  he  sat  down  on  a  bench  by  the  wall. 
The  little  room  was  one  of  the  neatest  that  the  Bishop 


76  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

ever  went  into  in  that  settlement.  With  the  extreme  scar- 
city of  anything  that  could  be  ustd  to  adorn  or  make 
comfort,  it  was  a  wonder  that  such  a  room  could  be  made. 
Out  of  the  commonest  things  Janet's  skillful  fingers  had 
made  neat  ornaments.  The  clay  floor  had  recently  been 
hidden  by  one  of  sawn  boards,  and  little  strips  of  home- 
made carpet  covered  the  boards  not  made  white  by  scrub- 
bing. The  cleanest  and  freshest  white-wash  covered  the 
walls,  where  were  hung  a  few  cheap  prints  with  frames  of 
oak  and  autumn  leaves.  Shelves  were  lined  with  scalloped 
paper.  In  the  little  window  behind  the  tiny  panes  of  glass 
stood  a  row  of  cans  filled  with  flowers:  two  or  three  ger- 
aniums, some  pinks,  and  a  few  wild  flowers.  Marcus  went 
up  to  them  and  pulled  a  small  red  blossom. 

"And  so  Janet  doesn't  come  home  often  now?"  said  he. 

"No;  she  doesn't  care  to  leave  her  place.  And  you 
know,  Brother  King,  a  girl  of  Janet's  nature  likes  a  little 
more  society  than  there  is  here  in  Hernia." 

"Yes;  I  suppose  so;  but  what  about  that  rumor?  Has 
she  found  a  young  man  that  cares  for  her?" 

"Yes;  I  think  she  has.  There's  no  use  denying  that; 
at  least  he  seems  to  think  a  great  deal  of  her." 

"And  does  she  like  him?" 

"Well  now,  Brother  King,  I  can't  say.  She's  turned 
so  strange  lately  that  I  can't  understand  the  girl.  I  be- 
lieve that  she  thinks  more  of  you  yet  than  of  anybody 
else." 

The  needles  stopped  their  busy  click,  and  the  old 
sister  looked  steadily  at  him  with  a  smile.  Marcus  was 
trying  to  fasten  to  his  jacket  the  flower  he  had  picked. 

"I'm  sorry,  Sister  Harmon — that  is,  I  suppose  I 
haven't  treated  Janet  quite  right." 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMOM.  77 

"No;  I  don't  think  you  have." 

"But  you  know  my  story,  don't  you?  Janet  does, 
and  I  thought  you  would  understand." 

"Yes;  Janet  told  me  about  your  young  lady  that 
wouldn't  have  you  after  you  became  a  Mormon.  Janet 
was  in  the  same  fix — but  bygones  are  bygones  with  her." 

Marcus  knew,  however,  that  there  was  a  difference  in 
their  cases. 

*' Where  is  Janet  staying  now?  I'm  going  to  town 
tomorrow  and  I  should  like  to  see  her?" 

Sister  Harmon  went  to  the  shelf  and  brought  down  a 
letter  from  which  she  took  a  slip  of  paper.  A  photo- 
graph also  fell  to  the  floor, 

"Oh  yes;  here's  his  picture,"  she  said  as  she  handed 
it  to  him. 

The  face  was  a  dear  one  to  Marcus  King.  It  was  his 
old  friend  who  had  brought  him  the  Gospel,  Elder  Robert 
James. 

"Do  you  know  him?"  she  asked. 

''Yes;  he  preached  the  Gospel  to  me  in  Hungerton.' 

"Indeed!  Well,  now,  that's  interesting;  but  have 
you  heard  that  he  is  on  the  back  track,  as  they  say?" 

"Yes;  I've  heard  it,  but  I  can  hardly  believe  it  of 
him.  I  must  see  him  when  I  go  to  town.  I  haven't 
heard  from  him  for  a  long  time,  and  had  no  idea  he  was 
in  Salt  Lake." 

Marcus  brought  away  with  him  a  package  for  Janet 
from  her  mother,  and  a  sharp  pain  in  his  heart  for  him- 
self, '  He  lost  no  time  in  getting  an  early  start  for  the 
city  next  morning. 

He  found  Elder  James  at  work  on  his  farm  on  the 
outskirts  of  the  city,  and  when  he  took  his  hand  and 


78  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

looked  into  his  face,  Marcus  found  that  there  was  some 
truth  in  the  rumor  he  had  heard.  The  man  spoke  in  a 
confused  way,  and  his  actions  displayed  a  nervousness  not 
natural  to  him.  Of  course  he  was  pleased  to  see  Marcus. 

'Til  unhitch  and  we'll  go  to  the  house.  Sister  Har- 
mon is  my  housekeeper— you  know  Janet  Harmon,  I  be- 
lieve?" 

"We  crossed  the  plains  together,  that  is,  part  way, 
and  she  has  lived  in  Hernia." 

"Yes;  she  has  told  me  of  you.  You  see,  I  lost  my 
wife  two  years  ago,  and  I  must  have  someone  to  look  after 
my  two  children.  Janet  does  it  splendidly.  She's  a  fine 
woman. " 

The  horses  were  unhitched  from  the  plow,  and  they 
made  for  the  stable,  the  two  men  following. 

"So  this  is  your  farm?"  asked  Marcus.  "You've  got 
a  fine  piece  of  land  here." 

"Yes;  it's  a  pretty  good  farm,  but  I've  sold  it." 

"Is  that  so?" 

"Yes;  I'm  going  East  in  the  spring.  Tve  an  offer 
of  a  good  position  back  in  my  native  state,  and  I  think 
I'd  better  go.  I'm  not  wanted  here  any  longer." 

"Why,  what's  the  matter,  Brother  James?" 

"I'm  finding  too  much  fault,  that's  all.  You  haven't 
heard,  perhaps,  but  the  fact  is  that  I  am  already  as  good 
as  an  outcast  here.  Things  are  not  run  right  to  my  no- 
tion, and  because  I  point  it  out,  I  am  ostracized." 

"But,  dear  brother,  the  Gospel  is  the  same,  isn't  it?" 

"Yes;  I  don't  deny  that,  but  Brigham  is  wrong." 

They  came  to  the  house,  where  they  met  Janet  com- 
ing from  the  cellar  with  a  pan  of  milk.  At  sight  of  Mar- 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  79 

cus  she  nearly  dropped  it.      "Look  out,"  he  said,  "If  I'm 
to  have  any  of  that  for  dinner." 

She  was  surprised,  and  also  a  little  uneasy,  Marcus 
thought.  However,  she  busied  herself  with  getting  din- 
ner, and  finding  time  once  in  a  while  to  ask  about  matters 
in  Hernia. 

At  the  table  they  asked  and  answered  questions  for 
some  time  regarding  their  doings  since  they  hfc  parted 
in  Iowa  City.  This  led  on  to  their  experiences  in  and 
around  Hungerton,  and  Elder  James  asked  about  many  of 
his  friends,  if  Marcus  had  any  news  from  them.  The  old- 
time  light  came  into  his  eyes,  and  the  old-time  interest 
awakened  when  these  missionary  reminiscences  were  in- 
dulged in;  and  Marcus  began  to  doubt  his  first  conclusion?. 

"I  live  with  John  and  Eliza  Dixon  in  Hernia.  They 
are  still  true  to  the  faith  as  you  taught  it  to  them, 
Robert.  Why  don't  you  come  out  and  see  them?" 

"Well,  I  have  often  thought  I  would  go  out  and  see 
you  all,  but  this  trouble  of  mine  has  prevented  me.  I 
didn't  think  you  would  care  to  see  me." 

"I  will  always  be  glad  to  see  you,  Robert.  I  can 
never  forget  what  I  owe  you.  I  am  trying  to  live  up  to 
the  principles  you  taught  me  also.  I  know  they  are  true 
— and  you  know  it,  too." 

Robert's  hand  trembled  as  he  pushed  his  hair  from 
his  forehead,  and  wiped  away  the  dampness. 

"Yes,"  he  said  in  a  low,  tremulous  voice;  "I  know 
they  are  true.  I  don't  deny  them,  Marcus,  and  I  hope  I 
never  shall.  The  principles  are  all  right,  but — "  and 
here  he  raised  his  voice,  "the  authorities  are  wrong." 

"I  shall  nob  try  to  show  you  the  fallacy  of  that  posi- 


80  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

tion.  It  seems  altogether  too  strange  for  me  to  be  your 
teacher." 

' 'Oh,  chat's  all  right.  You're  a  Bishop,  you  know, 
You  stand  in  with  Brigham  and  are  all  right." 

Marcus  did  not  desire  to  quarrel  with  his  old  friend. 
He  was  too  much  pained  for  that.  So  they  parted  with  a 
good  spirit,  and  Marcus  had  him  promise  that  he  would 
visit  his^riends  in  Hernia  the  next  Sunday. 

Janet  had  said  but  little  during  the  taik.  The  chil- 
dren came  rushing  in  to  get  their  dinner,  and  she  busied 
herself  with  them. 

"You'll  come,  too,  Janet,"  said  Marcus. 

"I  don't  know— I'd  like  to  see  Mother,  but—" 

"Let  there  be  no  'buts'  Janet.  You  must  promise 
me  to  come.  I  want  you  to  come,  Janet." 

* 'Then  I'll  be  there,"  she  said.  And  her  eyes  fol- 
lowed him  through  the  gate  and  up  the  road . 


CHAPTER  XL 

The  next  Saturday  Bishop  King  was  irrigating  corn 
when  he  saw  a  passing  team  stop  at  Harmon's,  and  Janet 
alight.  He  had  doubted  her  coming  at  all,  but  here  she 
was,  a  day  ahead. 

That  evening  Marcus  called.  He  smiled  to  himself 
as  he  brushed  his  coat,  and  put  on  his  best  tie,  before 
going.  It  had  been  such  a  long  time  since  he  had  done 
any  '  'dressing"  to  call  on  the  ladies  that  the  act  now  had 
a  certain  charm  in  it. 

Janet  must  have  expected  him.  She  was  dressed 
better  than  he  had  ever  seen  her,  and  she  reminded  him 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  81 

of  the  first  sight  he  had  of  her  on  the  plains.  Save  for 
a  sad  expression  that  seemed  to  have  made  itself  perma- 
nent in  her  face,  she  showed  her  peculiar  beauty  to  advan- 
tage that  evening.  A  little  pang  akin  to  jealousy  shot 
through  his  breast. 

Janet  had  brought  a  few  simple  luxuries  from  the 
city,  and  mother  and  daughter  were  enjoying  them  at  the 
table. 

"You're  just  in  time,"  exclaimed  the  mother. 
"There's  just  a  taste  of  this  cake  left  for  you." 

"We're  fast  getting  back  to  old  conditions,"  said  he, 
"when  we  can  have  sugar  in  our  cake.  This  was  sweet- 
ened with  sugar,  wasn't  it,  Janet?" 

Janet  nodded. 

"Yes;  and  when  we  can  dress  like  that,"  said  the 
mother,  pointing  to  Janet. 

"Now,  Mother,  you  know  that  this  is  the  cheapest 
kind  of  stuff." 

"It  must  be  in  the  making,"  said  Marcus,  "for  I  as- 
sure you,  it  looks  pretty  fine." 

"I'm  going  to  get  some  cooler  milk,"  said  the  girl,  as 
she  went  to  the  cellar  with  a  tin  pail. 

"Brother  James  will  be  here  tomorrow,  won't  he?" 
Marcus  asked,  when  she  returned. 

"Yes;  he  and  the  children." 

Sister  Harmon,  good  old  scheming  soul,  said  she  had 
an  errand  at  a  neighbor's.  Janet  pleaded  to  go  instead, 
but  she  was  ordered  to  stay  and  entertain  her  company. 

"The  Bishop  is  your  company,  mama,  not  mine." 
The  words  leaped  from  her  as  though  she  could  not  con- 
trol them.  Then  she  straightway  apologized. 


82  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

"All  right,  mother,  go  on.  I'll  do  my  best.  You'll 
forgive  me,  won't  you,  Brother  King?" 

"I  forgive  all  men — likewise  all  women,"  he 
answered,  "in  hopes  that  I  also  shall  be  forgiven  of  them." 

The  door  was  open,  and  the  moon  shone  in  on  the 
floor.  A  cool  breeze  came  from  the  mountains,  and  blew 
out  like  a  sail  the  little  white  curtain  at  the  window.  Mar- 
cus drew  his  chair  into  the  draught.  Janet  cleared  the 
table. 

"How  long  have  you  iived  with  Brother  James?"  he 


"Just  this  summer." 

"And  how  long  has  he  been  feeling  as  he  does?" 

"I  don't  know.  He  says  very  little  to  me  about 
such  things.  I  was  somewhat  surprised  myself  at  what 
he  said  to  you  the  other  day." 

"You  don't  know  how  sorry  I  am  when  I  see  a  man 
like  Brother  James  fall  into  the  dark.  Why,  he  has  bee  n 
on  a  mission,  preached  the  Gospel  to  hundreds,  and  done 
a  vast  amount  of  good;  and  after  it  all  to  apostatize!  I 
don't  understand  it.  Now,  if  it  had  been  you  or  me, 
Janet,  who  haven't  done  much  for  the  Church,  and  who 
are  quite  new,  it  wouldn't  have  been  so  surprising;  but 
Brother  James— well,  its  awful." 

"I  did  not  think  it  was  that  bad.  He's  been  very 
kind  to  me." 

"Janet,  do  you  know  what  rumor  has  it  about  you?'' 

"No;  what  rumor?"  She  stood  leaning  against  the 
open  door.  The  moonlight  streamed  through  her  hair, 
making  a  peculiarly  beautiful  effect. 

"Why,  that  you  and  Brother  James  are  keeping  com- 
pany." 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  83 


. . 


'And  what  if  we  are?  Whose  business  is  it?  She 
stood  up  erect  against  the  door.  Marcus  leaned  across 
the  cleared  table  and  looked  at  her.  He  had  never  seen 
her  so  charming. 

1  'Janet,  I  did  not  mean  to  offend  you  by  repeating 
gossip,"  he  said  quietly.  "For  my  own  knowledge  I 
wanted  to  know." 

She  stood  as  if  rigid.  Marcus  could  hear  that  she 
breathed  hard,  but  she  said  nothing. 

"I  wanted  the  information,  Janet,  so  that  I  would 
know  how  to  act.  1  do  not  wish  to  be  unfair  or  unmanly. 
If  you  have  promised  to  marry  Brother  James,  then  I'll 
say  no  more." 

It  was  a  bold  move  he  made,  but  he  might  as  well 
out  with  it. 

"I've  not  promised  to  marry  Brother  James." 

"Thank  you  for  telling  me.  Won't  you  sit  down 
here,  Janet,  while  I  talk  to  you." 

She  answered  not,  she  did  not  move.  So  Marcus 
arose  and  stood  on  the  other  side  of  the  open  door,  quite 
close  to  her.  A  field  of  ripening  wheat  was  just  outside, 
but  its  countless  ears  would  never  hear.  However,  they 
nodded  back  and  forth  towards  each  other  in  the  moon- 
light as  if  they  were  whispering  a  secret  tale  of. love. 

"Janet,  you  can't  imagine  the  responsibility  there  is 
in  being  Bishop  even  in  such  a  small  place  as  this.  I've 
been  alone  in  the  work  long  enough,  and  if  I  can  get  some 
one  to  help  me,  it  will  be  better." 

"You  can  get  ten  girls  to  marry  you,  if  that  is  what 
you  mean, "  she  said  with  an  effort. 

"But  I  don't  want  ten,  I  want  but  one — " 


84  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

"And  she  is  in  Hungerton.  You  are  in  a  fix, Bishop/' 
There  was  a  sneer  in  her  tone  this  time. 

Marcus  walked  back  to  the  chair.  He  was  silenced. 
She  had  turned  on  him,  she  was  playing  with  him,  and  he 
kne#  now  that  he  loved  her.  He  could  not  say  anything 
to  her,  and  she  stood  there  looking — staring  out  into  the 
fields. 

''Well,  Janet,"  he  said  at  last,  "I  see  that  it  is  useless 
to  say  anything  further  to  you  tonight."  He  pushed  the 
chair  away  and  reached  for  his  hat.  "Perhaps,  tomorrow 
—but  Brother  James  will  be  here  then  and  there  is  no 
telling — oh  Janet,  why  do  you  despise  me?  what  have  I 
done  that  you  should  hate  me?1' 

The  girl  walked  waveringly  to  the  chair,  leaned  her 
head  on  the  table,  and  burst  into  loud  sobs.  Marcus  stood 
hat  in  hand  as  if  helpless.  Then  he  went  to  her,  and  as 
a  father  would  place  his  hand  on  the  head  of  a  child,  he 
placed  his  on  the  bowed  head.  He  drew  another  chair  up 
to  her,  and  sat  there  until  her  sobs  grew  less  violent. 
Then  he  gently  took  her  hand,  and  lifted  her  head  from 
the  table.  .  All  her  passion  had  vanished,  and  she  yielded 
to  each  pressure  of  his  hand. 

"I  did  not  mean  to  be  hard, "  she  said  at  last,  "but 
I  thought  you  never  have  cared  for  me,  and  now  your  talk 
puts  the  devil  into  my  heart.  Forgive  me,  Marcus." 

"I  have  nothing  to  forgive,  but  you  have  much.  I 
have  ill-treated  you.  I  have" neglected  you,  but  it  shall 
be  so  no  longer.  Do  you  think  you  can  forgive  me,  and 
learn  to  love  me?" 

"I  love  you  now,  Marcus."  She  .only  whispered  it, 
but  he  heard  it  plainly,  and  he  pressed  her  head  onto  his 
shoulder,  while  her  soft,  warm  hand  clasped  his  in  a  firm 


MARCUS  KING,IMORMON.  85 

grasp.  The  breeze  sank  to  a  zephyr.  The  moon  sailed 
behind  a  cloud.  Then  he  kissed  her,  and  what  were  words 
after  that? 

''Marcus,"  she  said,  "now  I  must  talk.  Mother  will 
be  here  presently,  and  I  don't  care  for  her  to  see  my 
swollen  eyes.  Let  us  walk  up  and  down  outside!" 

So  Marcus  slipped  her  arm  into  his  and  they  walked 
down  the  road  bordering  the  wheat  field  and  the  hay 
meadow. 

"Marcus,  you  haven't  said  that  you  love  me." 

"Then  I  will  say  it  now." 

"Hush!  but  we  may  take  it  for  granted  that  you  care 
a  little  for  me.  Still — now  don't  deny  it,  Marcus— you 
think  more  of  Alice  Merton.'' 

"But  that  is  in  the  past.  It  is  useless  to  talk  about 
it." 

"Perhaps,  and  perhaps  not.  However,  let  us  under- 
stand each  other,  let  us  have  no  secrets  between  us.  I 
have  told  you  mine." 

"And  you  don't  care  for  Robert  James?" 

"Not  a  bit.  I  never  did,  I  cared  for  you  only,  and 
I  shall  thank  God  that  tonight  He  has  answered  my  pray- 
ers." 

How  could  Marcus  have  been  so  blind  to  such  a  sub- 
lime love! 

"Now  listen  to  me,  "—and  she  pinched  his  arm.  "I'm 
not  going  to  marry  you  just  yet." 

"Well,  why  not?  Hasn't  my  house  stood  vacant  long 
enough?" 

"I'm  going  to  give  you  a  chance  to  marry  Alice 
first." 

"But  my  dear  Janet,  you  can't  give  me  that  chance." 


86  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

"Hush,  let  me  tell  you.  We  can  wait  and  see.  We 
know  not  what  time  will  bring.  We  must  give  Alice  a 
chance.  She  loves  you,  and  you  love  her— you  love  her 
more  than  you  love  me.  I'm  used  to  that  thought  now, 
so  it  doesn't  hurt  me.  You  can  marry  Alice  first,  I'm  wil- 
ling. It  is  her  right.  I  will  come  in  afterwards  and  be 
a  help  to  you  both.'' 

4  'My  dear  girl,  I  bless  you  for  your  words.  I  had  not 
thought  it  possible  for  a  woman  to  say  them  as  you  have. 
I  do  love  Alice,  and  I  think  I  always  shall;  but  remember, 
that  does  not  hinder  me  from  loving  you,  yea,  now  a  hun- 
died  fold  more  than  ever." 

"I  know  it,  Marcus,  I  know  it;  you  love  me  of  course, 
but  nut  as  you  love  Alice;  and  it's  all  right.  It's  not  to 
be  expected  otherwise.  We  must  give  Alice  another 
chance.  If  you  marry  me  first,  it  would  break  Alice's 
heart.  I  can  come  in  second,  you  know.  That  wil!  be 
easier  for  her,  when  she  understands  it." 

"Yes;  but  she  never  will  understand,  I  fear." 

"She  may,  Marcus.  That's  in  God's  hands.  We  must 
give  her  another  chance  anyway.  Marcus,  I  had  a  letter 
from  her  last  winter.2' 

"You?" 

"Yes;  I've  never  told  you  before  because  I  was  jeal- 
ous. She  asked  about  you.  Oh,  it  was  such  a  beautiful 
letter,  and  full  of  love  for  you.  I  believe  she  is  a  good 
girl,  and  I  have  not  treated  her  right  because  I  have  not 
answered  it  yet." 

"You  surprise  me.  How  could  she  have  gotten  your 
address?  She  has  never  answered  any  of  my  letters." 

"I  suppose  she  got  it  through  Brother  Dixon,   or 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  87 

perhaps  through  Robert  James.  He  has  written  back,  I 
understand.'7 

It  was  getting  late.  The  mother  was  looking  out  of 
the  door  for  them,  and  they  walked  up  to  her  arm  in 
arm. 

"It's  all  right,  mother,"  said  Marcus,  "Janet  and  I 
have  come  to  an  understanding  at  last,  and  we  want  your 
sanction  and  blessing." 

"And  you  may  have  both,"  she  said,  and  continued 
about  now  being  able  to  lay  down  her  bones  in  peace, 
which  remark  Marcus  just  made  out  as  he  leaped  over  the 
fence  on  a  short  cut  home. 


CHAPTER  12. 

It  was  a  pleasant  party  that  assembled  at  John  Dix- 
on's  the  next  day.  There  were  John  and  his  wife,  Sister 
Harmon  and  Janet,  Robert  James  and  the  two  children, 
and  the  Bishop  of  Hernia,  with  little  Ida  alternately  on 
his  arm  and  knee. 

There  are  no  more  pleasing  associations  than  those 
formed  in  the  mission  field.  Somehow  that  "first  love" 
for  the  Gospel  is  awakened  and  renewed  by  meeting 
friends  whom  one  has  learned  to  know  and  love  while 
preaching  the  Gospel.  What  good  times  to  be  recalled! 
What  outpourings  of  the  Spirit  to  be  remembered!  What 
experiences  with  opposing  forces  to  be  narrated  again! 
And  so  that  little  party  at  Dixon's  were  all  day,  between 


88  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

meetings,  talking  of  old  times,  and  rejoicing  in  each 
other's  company. 

It  was  not  until  towards  evening  that  Robert  James 
showed  his  disposition  to  find  fault,  and  them  he  began 
in  a  manner  that  jarred  on  the  Bishop's  feelings.  Marcus 
dH  not  care  to  bring  on  any  discus- sion  and  so  mar  the 
good  spirit  of  the  company;  but  he  could  not  quietly  hear 
slandered  those  whom  he  considered  apostles  and  proph- 
ets, and  although  not  without  their  faults,  still  $>ood  men. 
So  he  said  to  his  friend  Robert  in  the  hearing  of  al!: 

"Brother  James,  I'm  surprised  at  you  I'm  surprised 
that  you  should  say  such  things.  You  are  a  reasonable 
man,  and  understand  the  philosophy  of  the  Gospel.  Tell 
me  how  it  is  that  the  leaders,  the  heads  of  the  true 
Church,  can  be  in  the  wrong,  and  still  that  Church  grow 
and  prosper,  and  be  in  the  right?  Can  the  head  be  sick 
without  the  body  knowing  it?" 

"The  body  does  know  it." 

"An  individual  now  and  then  thinks  so;  not  the 
Church  as  a  whole." 

"Well,  I  think  I  know  what  I'm  talking  about.  I 
know  more  about  Brigham  Young  than  you  do. " 

"You  may  do  that.  When  I  know  that  he  stands  at 
the  head  of  the  Church  of  Christ  on  the  earth,  I  do  not 
care  to  know  all  his  faults  and  misdoings,  for  of  course 
he  is  not  perfect,  being  a  mortal  like  the  rest  of  us. 
Knowing  the  Gospel  to  be  true,  I  can  be  satisfied  with  whom- 
soever God  pleases  to  put  at  the  head.  I  can  reason  no 
other  way.  I  can  not  believe  that  an  impure  fountain  can 
bring  forth  pure  waters." 

"I'm  not  going  to  argue  with  you,  Marcus,  on  that 
point." 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  89 

"I  didn't  say  that  to  you,  when  you  came  to  Hunger- 
ton.  I  reasoned  with  you,  and  tried  to  hold  my  point, 
too;  but  when  I  saw  that  I  was  beaten,  I  gave  in, 
didn't  I?" 

"Yes;  but  really  I  see  no  use  in  talking  about  it. 
What's  done  can't  be  undone.  I've  sold  my  place  and  am 
going  East.  Perhaps  they  will  cut  me  off  the  Church 
before  I  go.  Then  I'll  be  out  of  it,  and  will  get  away 
from  Mormonism  for  a  while.  Come,  children,  let's  be 
going.  I'm  sorry  that  I  should  disappoint  you  so,  Marcus, 
but  I  can't  help  it.  You  keep  on,  and  you'll  be  all 
right." 

He  tried  to  laugh,  a  forced,  sickly  laugh,  as  he  pre- 
pared to  go.  The  others  looked  on  in  silence.  Marcus 
arose  and  stood  by  the  table,  his  eyes  blazing. 

"Robert,  wait  a  moment.  Once  you  taught  me  the 
eternal  truth,  and  now  I  am  going  to  tell  it  to  you.  I 
want  you  to  remember  that  I  have  borne  my  testimony  to 
you.  You  said  you  would  get  away  from  Mormcnism. 
Robert  James,  I  tell  you  solemnly  you  can  not  get  away 
from  Mormonism,  you  can  not  get  outside  of  it.  Do  what 
you  will,  go  where  you  may,  eternal  truth  will  be  there— and 
that  is  Mormonism.  Take  the  wings  of  the  morning  and 
fly  to  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  universe,  and  there  is 
God  and  His  children — that  is  Mormonism.  In  life  or  in 
death  Mormonism  will  meet  you  and  remind  you  of  its 
truth.  You  might  as  well  try  to  run  away  from  your  in- 
nermost soul  as  to  escape  from  Mormonism.  You  might 
as  well  try  to  get  outside  of  time  and  space  as  to  get  out- 
side of  Mormonism.  You  can't  do  it,  Brother  James,  you 
can't  do  it." 


90  MARCUS  KISG,  MORMON. 

'  Tis  the  last  and  the  first, 

For  the  limits  of  time  it  steps  o'er; 

Though  the  heavens  depart,  and  the  earth's  fountains  burst/ 
Truth,  the  sum  of  existence,  will  weather  the  worst, 

Eternal,  unchanged,  evermore' — 

and  that  is  Mormonism!" 

They  had  all  arisen.  No  one  spoke,  but  Robert  James 
put  on  his  hat,  took  a  child  by  each  hand,  and  walked 
away.  He  went  straight  to  where  his  horses  were  feed- 
ing by  his  wagon,  and  taking  no  heed  of  the  pleadings  to 
remain,  he  hitchejl  up  and  drove  off  to  town.  The  last 
that  was  heard  of  them  in  the  dark  was  the  children's 
crying. 

****** 

Janet  went  to  the  city,  had  a  talk  with  Robert  James, 
and  then  came  back  to  Hernia.  She  and  Marcus  were 
much  together,  and  now  it  was  generally  conceded  that 
the  Bishop  would  get  a  wife.  However,  weeks  went  by 
and  the  golden  autumn  came,  and  still  there  was  no 
change. 

'  'You  are  not  to  be  in  a  hurry,  Marcus,  about  my 
setting  the  date,"  said  she;  "ycu'U  grant  me  that." 

"Take  your  own  time,  my  dear;  but  our  good  people, 
the  neighbors,  are  getting  impatient,"  he  answered. 

Meanwhile,  Janet  had  answered  Alice's  letter,  and  in 
due  time  of  the  stage  coach  she  received  an  answer.  It 
was  a  strange  letter. 

Expressing,  as  the  writer  did,  strong  condemnation, 
she,  at  the  same  time,  could  not  hide  her  love  for  Marcus. 
Janet  could  read  that  plainly  between  the  lines.  Janet  an- 
swered it  at  once,  and  in  her  letter  she  told  Alice  the  facts 
as  regarding  Marcus  and  as  regards  herself.  She  was 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  91 

open  with  her,  laying  bare  her  soul  to  the  unknown  girl. 
Janet  thought  it  was  her  duty  to  do  so.  She  meant  to  do 
what  was  right  by  Alice  Merton,  and  give  her  the  one 
chance  more.  She  had  studied  it  all  out  during  her  long 
absence  from  Hernia,  when  she  had  been  greatly  in  doubt 
whether  Marcus  had  any  love  for  her.  She  had  thought 
of  that  first  love  of  hers,  which  had  been  so  easily  changed. 
As  she  looked  back  upon  it,  she  thanked  God  that  it  had 
gone  no  further  than  it  had.  When  she  thought  of  Mar- 
cus, with  his  high  ideals,  his  nobility  of  character,  and  bis 
manhood,  how  low  in  the  scale  that  other  man  sank!  But 
— but  she  was  not  sure  of  Marcus;  far  from  it.  Looking 
back  on  their  acquaintance,  she  could  find  nothing  in  him 
that  would  indicate  more  than  a  deep  respect  for  her. 
His  mind  had  been  so  filled  with  Alice  that  there  had  been 
no  room  for  her.  At  first  she  resented  it,  and  vowed  that 
she  would  never  again  show  her  heart  to  Marcus,  as  she 
had  done  on  some  occasions.  But  the  more  she  thought 
and  prayed  about  it,  the  clearer  became  her  right  position 
toward  herself  and  them.  Envy  left  her,  resentment 
found  no  place  within  her  heart.  It  was  all  shown  to  her 
so  clearly.  Her  duty  was  plain.  There  was  sacrifice  in 
it,  but  beyond  it  all  there  was  peace  and  joy,  and  a  glory 
which  God  gave  her  a  glimpse  of.  With  all  this  in  her 
soul  she  had  penned  that  last  letter  to  Alice,  and  now  she 
would  wait  for  an  answer.  It  would  take  weeks,  perhaps 
months,  but  wait  she  would  before  she  would  give  her 
hand  to  Marcus  King.  And  Marcus  also  waited  patiently. 
In  those  early  days,  the  one  house,  sometimes  rude, 
answered  for  meetinghouse,  schoolhouse,  amusement  hall — 
a  place  for  all  kinds  of  public  gatherings.  Marcus  had 
his  ideals  even  in  these  wild  surroundings,  and  he  did  not 


92  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

lose  sight  of  them.  That  fall,  when  the  harvesting  was 
over,  he  began  the  movement  to  build  that  new  meeting- 
house. That  meetinghouse?  Yes,  it  was  the  only  one  of 
its  kind  in  the  valley  for  a  long  time,  and  many  of  the  old 
settles  can  yet  tell  of  that  wonderful  structure. 

Marcus  talked  the  project  up  well  before  beginning, 
and  the  majority  of  the  people  were  heartily  in  favor  of 
his  plans.  A  few  thought  the  schoolhouse  good  enough, 
and  said  the  Bishop  was  going  back  to  his  old  sectarian 
notions  of  fine  churches.  A  building  committee  was  ap- 
pointed, of  which  Marcus  was  chairman.  He  was  also  the 
architect  of  the  new  house,  while  Brother  Wood  was  the 
foreman  of  the  work. 

"We  fix  up  the  best  we  know  now, "  Marcus  preached, 
"when  we  invite  our  friends  to  see  us.  Let  us  not  dis- 
criminate against  the  Lord.  Every  Sabbath  at  least  we 
invite  the  Lord  to  meet  with  us,  and  what  kind  of  a  re- 
ception room  do  we  provide  for  Him?  Well,  you  all  know 
what  rendition  our  room  is  often  in  on  a  Sunday  after  a 
dance.  There  can  be  nothing  too  good  for  the  Lord  or 
His  Spirit.  We  try  to  make  our  temples  the  most  beauti- 
ful buildings  that  the  human  hand  can  construct,  in  proof 
of  this.  I  have  heard  some  complaints  about  this  matter. 
One  brother  said  that  it  was  sectarian,  and  smattered  of 
the  pride  of  the  world.  I  don't  think  so.  The  children 
of  this  world  are  often  wiser  than  the  children  of  light. 
They  make  their  places  of  worship  beautiful  and  attrac- 
tive, that  people  may  be  drawn  to  them  and  take  a  delight 
in  coming.  Why  shouldn't  we  do  the  same?  We,  out 
here  in  the  West,  must  'rough  it'  all  the  week.  We  come 
in  close  contact  with  mother  earth,  and  her  stains  are 
upon  us.  We  learn  to  live  with  the  soil  and  forget  to 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  98 

look  up  to  the  beautiful  blue  sky.  Now,  I  think  that  once 
in  a  while  we  should  get  away  from  our  life  of  drudgery, 
and  soar,  as  it  were,  in  the  beauties  of  heaven.  I  think 
we  should  have  a  place  into  which  we  might  enter,  and 
its  very  atmosphere  draw  our  minds  to  God." 

So  the  work  was  begun.  The  logs  came  from  the 
canyon,  and  the  hewers  cut  them  smooth  on  both  sides 
A  site  was  selected  which  could  be  irrigated,  and  a  foun- 
dation was  laid.  Marcus  had  plenty  of  skilled  laborers 
who  were  glad  to  thus  renew  their  acquaintance  with 
their  old  trades.  Each  took  a  pride  in  doing  his  best. 
There  was  a  scarcity  of  material,  but  it  was  a  wonder  to 
see  the  ingenuity  that  was  exhibited  to  overcome  diffi- 
culties. 

The  sisters  were  not  idle.  With  Janet  at  their  head, 
they  gathered  a  great  many  rags,  which  they  sewed  and 
weaved  into  beautiful  strips  of  carpet.  These  were  for 
the  stand  and  aisles,  and  perhaps  the  whole  floor  if  they 
could  get  enough.  Then  there  were  some  coverings  for  the 
windows,  something  in  the  nature  of  curtains  or  blinds  to 
keep  out  the  hot  summer  sun.  There  was  much  planning 
before  anything  satisfactory  was  devised.  Then  Janet 
said  there  must  be  some  decorations  for  the  walls,  and 
old  trunks  were  ransacked  for  suitable  pictures.  These 
were  put  into  all  sorts  of  crude  but  artistic  frames. 

The  whole  of  Hernia  was  aroused.  Every  man,  woman, 
and  child  had  or  wanted  something  to  do  with  the  build- 
ing of  the  new  meetinghouse.  This  was  true  even  of  the 
grumblers.  As  the  ^  alls  slowly  arose,  the  plasterer  was 
scheming  and  experimenting  to  get  the  best  plaster  out 
of  the  material  he  could  procure.  The  painters  and  dec- 


94  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

orators,  and  there  was  an  artist  among  them,  also  were 
hard  at  work  mjxing  unheard  of  pigments  and  experiment- 
ing with  their  own  rooms  with  effects  of ttimes  the  most 
startling. 

As  heads  of  the  two  divisions,  Marcus  and  Janet  met 
and  schemed.  Marcus  had  drawn  quite  elaborate  plans 
which  he  explained  to  Janet  one  afternoon. 

"In  the  spring  we  shall  try  to  get  some  shrubbery/' 
said  he.  "I  have  already  sent  after  some  grass  seed  which 
I  intend  to  plant  this  fall.  Then  here  we  shall  have  a  row 
of  trees — of  poplars,  box  elders,  locusts,  and  others  that 
we  can  get.  Then  Pm  going  to  write  back  to  Hungerton 
to  the  old  janitor  there  and  ask  him  to  send  me  some  roots 
of  that  ivy  which  nearly  buries  the  church.  That  I  will 
plant  here  on  each  side  of  the  vestibule,  and  make  some 
trellis  work  for  it  to  climb  upon/' 

They  leaned  over  the  table  and  examined  the  draw- 
ings, their  heads  being  close  together. 

"Where  are  your  flower  beds?1'  she  asked. 

"Wt- 11,  I  hardly  dared  go  that  far." 

"Why  not?  Flowers  are  as  easy  to  raise  as  trees  or 
grass.  I  want  some  flowers.  A  big  boquet  must  be  on 
the  stand  every  Sunday  morning." 

"I'm  no  florist,  but  you  are,  so  here  goes."  Where- 
upon some  circles  and  diamonds  were  drawn  upon  the 
paper. 

"And  if  any  teams  are  hitched  close  by  to  injure  all 
this,  there'll  be  a  row!" 

"That's  all  provid  d  for,"  laughed  Marcus.  "See 
here  across  the  street  we  are  to  plant  a  double  row  of 
trees  for  the  trains." 

"I  like  this,"  said  Janet.      "You  know  this  is  doing 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  9^ 

something.      We're  shaping  the  future,  we're  creating, 
we're  pioneers." 

'I've  told  you  that  before,  haven't  I?" 

They  were  in  reality  two  happy  people. 

Then  Janet  reminded  Marcus  of  the  wildness  of  life 
among  the  young  people,  and  their  lack  of  gentle  manners. 
Marcus  was  aware  of  it  well  enough,  but  was  at  a  loss  to 
know  how  to  check  it.  So,  together  they  talked  it  over 
and  decided  that  they  would  take  a  more  active  part  in 
the  amusements  of  the  young  people,  in  fact,  be  the  lead- 
ers, and  show  them  by  example  rather  than  by  precept 
how  to  act. 

They  went  about  their  task  quietly,  but  soon  there 
was  a  marked  change.  In  the  dance  Marcus  and  Janet 
were  the  first  and  leading  couple.  They  made  themselves 
as  prominent  as  they  could,  and  all  had  to  look  at  the 
graceful  couple  and  unconsciously  follow  them. 

In  all  this  Marcus  and  Janet  put  their  whole  soul.  It 
was  a  labor  worthy  of  any  talent. 

Then  came  October,  and  the  conference.  A  jolly 
party  drove  in  to  the  city  to  attend.  The  splendid  meet- 
ings were  greatly  enjoyed.  On  the  afternoon  of  the  last 
day  the  list  of  missionaries  called  to  the  world  was  read. 
Among  those  called  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  the  United 
States  was  the  name  of  Marcus  King. 

Marcus  immediately  an&weied  the  call.  He  had  very 
little  preparation  to  make.  He  called  together  his  coun- 
selors and  some  of  the  leading  brethren  and  laid  before 
them  his  plans  for  finishing  the  new  meetinghouse,  and 
they  said  that  his  ideas  should  be  carried  out  as  far  as 
possible.  John  Dixon  would  look  after  his  personal  affairs. 


96  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

He  asked  Janet  if  she  had  fixed  the  date  for  their  marriage 
yet,  and  she  said  she  had  not. 

"I  know  people  will  talk/'  she  explained, "  and  wonder 
why  we  do  not  get  married  before  you  leave,  but  we  will 
have  to  stand  that.  Now,  more  than  ever,  that  date  must 
be  uncertain.  You  will  visit  Hungerton,  and  see  Alice; 
meanwhile  I  will  wait  and  see  how  things  turn  out." 

'  'Janet,"  said  he,  *  1  appreciate  your  motives.  I  had 
not  thought  it  possible  for  woman  to  sacrifice  herself  for 
woman  as  you  are  doing." 

"In  the  end  there  will  be  a  greater  blessing,"  said 
she,  "so  there  really  is  no  sacrifice." 

"Yes;  with  the  light  you  have  on  the  subject  of  God's 
eternal  providences,  it  may  be  possible.  To  the  women  in 
the  world  it  would  not  be.  Janet,  you  are  dearer  than 
ever  to  me  for  what  you  say,  because  it  is  true  that  I  love 
Alice,  and  because  I  do  want  to  see  her  again.  Now  that's 
a  paradox.  You  ought  to  be  angry  at  that,  to  spurn  me, 
or  go  away  with  a  broken  heart;  but  you  do  neither.  You 
understand  that  it  is  possible  for  me  to  love  you  both." 

But  her  heart  was  full,  and  she  did  not  answer.  A 
tear  slowly  trickled  down  her  cheek,  which  Marcus  kissed 
away. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

In  a  few  days  Marcus  was  ready.  The  missionary 
company  went  with  some  travelers  going  East.  The 
weather  continued  to  be  fair,  and  good  time  was  made. 
As  he  traversed  nearly  the  same  ground  over  which  he 
had  traveled  with  his  hand-cart,  Marcus  could  not  help 


MARCUS  KING,   MORMON  97 

but  think  of  that  terrible  trial,  and  then  of  the  experience 
which  had  been  crowded  into  the  past  three  years  of  his 
life.  And  here  he  was  again,  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel, 
not  with  a  salary,  but  traveling  without  purse  and  scrip 
as  the  apostles  of  old. 

Winter  had  set  in  before  they  reached  the  railroad, 
but  there  was  no  suffering;  then,  drawn  by  the  iron  steed, 
they  soon  reached  their  destination. 

Marcus  labored  for  some  time  in  and  around  the  city 
of  St.  Louis.  Here  he  found  a  number  of  old-time  friends, 
some  of  whom  received  him  kindly  and  others  did  not. 
Marcus  entered  into  his  work  with  keen  interest.  That 
he  represented  an  unpopular  people,  and  preached  an  un- 
popular doctrine  which  brought  upon  him  much  opposi- 
tion, only  spurred  him  on  and  gave  life  and  zeal  to  his 
labors. 

One  day  he  found  a  college  chum,  one  who  had  also 
entered  the  ministry  and  was  now  the  popular  pastor  of  a 
large  church  in  the  city.  His  friend  was  surprised  to  see 
him,  and  doubly  astonished  when  he  learned  some  of  his 
history.  He  invited  Marcus  to  call  on  him  the  next  even- 
ing, which  invitation  was  promptly  accepted. 

Marcus  had  walked  all  day  and  was  tired  and  hungry 
when  he  made  his  way  to  his  friend's  house.  At  his  knock 
a  servant  girl  showed  him  in  and  took  his  hat  and  over- 
coat. He  had  no  rubbers,  so  he  wiped  his  feet  well  on 
the  rug  before  entering.  The  parlor  was  warm  and  well- 
lighted,  and  Marcus  sank  into  the  cushions  of  an  arm-chair 
with  an  old-time  abandon  to  ease  and  comfort. 

That  must  have  been  a  dream,  that  trip  out  in  the 
wilds  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  among  the  Mormons!  Was 
he  not  sitting  in  his  own  cozy  parlor  at  Hun^erton?  His 


98  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

mother  would  soon  call  him  to  dinner.  He  could  hear  the 
clatter  of  dishes,  and  the  delicious  odor  of  cooking  viands 
came  through  the  opening  and  closing  doors.  Yes,  it 
must  have  been  all  a  dream:  the  hard,  long  travel  across 
the  plains;  the  sleeping  and  eating  on  the  ground;  the  liv- 
ing in  log  houses;  the  poor,  coarse  food;  the  wild,  dry, 
desert  West,  pregnant  with  the  smell  of  alkali  and  sage- 
brush; the  hot  sun;  the  cloudless  sky;  the  Mormons  and 
all  his  supposed  friends;  there  was  Janet  busy  with  the 
worked  co/ering  which  she  said  was  to  be  for  the  pulpit; 
she  leaned  over  her  work,  the  long  braids  of  dark  red  hair 
hanging  over  her  shoulders;  her  mother  moved  quietly 
about  in  that  little  white-washed  room;  the  plowing  and 
the  planting;  the  irrigating  and  the  harvesting;  the  hay- 
ing; the  digging  of  potatoes  that  made  the  hands  rough 
and  sore;  the  long,  hard  day's  work  in  the  hot  sun — yes; 
what  a  wonderful  dream  it  had  all  been! 

"Good  evening,  Marcus,"  said  his  friend,  stepping  in, 
"I  see  you've  come." 

Marcus  crossed  his  knees  again;  he  imagined  for  an 
instant  that  his  warm  slipper  was  dangling  on  the  end  of 
his  foot,  but  in  reality  he  saw  nothing  but  a  wet,  much- 
mended  shoe. 

"You'll excuse  me  for  keeping  you  waiting  so  long," 
said  the  parson. 

"Oh,"  I  am  quite  at  ease,  you  see.  You  have  it  quite 
comfortable  here." 

"Well,  not  as  I  wish.  The  salary  doesn't  allow  much 
yet;  but  I  am  hoping  to  get  a  raise  soon,  and  then  I  ex- 
pect to  fix  up  as  I  should  like.  If  it's  a  fair  question, 
how  much  do  you  get?  I  understand  you  are  travelirg 
in  the  interest  of  the  Mormon  Church?" 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  99 

"Well,  now,"  said  Marcus,  smiling,  "I  don't  know 
yet,  as  the  account  is  kept  by  the  recording  angel;  but  I 
hope  I  shall  have  my  share  when  I  get  to  heaven .  We 
get  no  salary  here." 

Marcus  saw  that  the  pastor  doubted  his  word,  so  he 
said  no  more  on  that  subject  but  the  talk  soon  led  on  to 
old  times,  and  what  Marcus  had  seen  in  the  West.  Then 
dinner  was  announced,  of  which  the  hungry  missionary 
was  heartily  glad.  His  friend  introduced  him  to  his  wife, 
and  the  three  sat  down  to  a  dinner  which  again  reminded 
Marcus  of  bygone  days. 

His  friends  could  not  understand  Marcus.  That  he 
could  forsake  his  all  and  c-ast  his  lot  with  the  Mormons 
was  beyond  belief.  They  did  not  say  as  much  in  words, 
but  Marcus  understood  it  from  their  manner.  In  their 
talk  that  evening,  Marcus  did  not  desire  to  press  his  doc- 
trines on  them,  but  when  the  pastor  began  to  use  sarcasm 
tn  regard  to  some  of  the  teachings  of  the  Mormons,  he 
put  himself  on  the  defense.  Especially  was  the  word 
"Saint"  obnoxious  to  the  reverend  divine. 

"My  friend,"  asked  Marcus,  "what  is  a  Saint?" 

"A  holy  person;  not  sinful  mortals  as  we." 

"You  have  not  read  your  Bible  for  that  .answer.  In 
olden  times  every  person  who  became  a  member  of  the 
Church  of  Christ  was  called  a  Saint.  They  were  not  all 
perfect  men  and  womer,  but  mortals  like  us." 

They  sat  around  the  table  cracking  nuts,  after  the 
dinner.  The  parson's  wife  looked  strangely  at  Marcus  as 
he  talked. 

"We  call  ourselves  Saints  and  the  world  calls  it  sac- 
rilege. That  is  because  they  have  changed  the  meaning 
of  the  word.  In  our  pictures  of  Saints,  we  see  some  old- 


100  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

monk  or  nun,  with  eyes  turned  up  to  heaven,  and  a  long- 
drawn,  unnatural  expression  on  the  face,  and  we  are  led 
to  believe  that  a  living  flesh  and  blood  mortal  cannot  be 
a  Saint.  I  claim  to  be  a  better  Saint  now  than  a  few  years 
ago  when  I  had  somewhat  of  a  ministerial  look  on  my  face. " 

Marcus  laughed,  but  neither  the  parson  nor  his  wife 
joined  in  his  merriment. 

"We  are  the  children  of  God,  and  we  are  here  for  a 
purpose,"  continued  Marcus.  "The  flesh  is  not  an  evil 
tenement  to  be  despised,  for  by  so  doing  we  despise  the 
noblest  works  of  God.  The  highest  type  of  personal 
holiness  is  not  obtained  in  the  cloister,  but  out  in  the 
thick  of  the  world's  temptations,  battling  with  sin  and 
error,  gaining  experience  by  what  we  suffer,  overcoming, 
conquering.  There  is  opportunity  enough  for  self-denial 
and  self-renunciation  in  our  daily  lives.  A  man  can  be  a 
man  and  a  Saint  at  the  same  time.  Manhood,  woman- 
hood and  sainthood  are  synonymous.  Don't  you  think  so?" 

"You  haven't  forgotten  how  to  preach  yet, "  said  his 
friend. 

"Why,  no;  I'm  a  preacher,  you  know/' 

Out  again  in  the  wild  night,  Marcus  realized  that  he 
was  not  dreaming,  but  that  life  was  real  enough.  The 
snow  came  in  thick  gusts  and  he  wrapped  his  coat  closely 
around  him  as  he  went  to  his  lodgings.  His  friend  had 
not  even  asked  him  to  stay  over  night,  neither  to  call 
again  and  see  them.  Well,  it  was  all  right. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

One  morning  Marcus  received  a  number   of  letters 
from  the  West.     One  was  from  Janet,   one  from  John, 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  101 

and  some  from  his  friends.  One  had  come  from  Hunger- 
ton,  and  had  traveled  the  long  journey  back  again.  The 
handwriting  was  not  his  mother's,  and  when  he  opened  it, 
he  knew  the  cause:  his  mother  was  dead  now  nearly  two 
months  ago. 

It  was  sad  news  to  Marcus,  he  had  hoped  to  see  her 
yet  once  more;  but  now  she  had  gone  to  his  father.  She 
had  borne  the  news  of  his  son  to  him.  Did  they  under- 
stand the  truth  there  and  rejoice  that  they  had  a  son 
on  earth  who  was  an  honor  and  not  a  disgrace  to  them 
now?  Marcus  believed  they  did. 

Shortly  after  New  Years  Marcus  set  out  on  a  long 
journey.  He  meant  to  reach  Hungerton  early  in  the 
spring,  and  even  if  he  could  do  nothing  in  the  way  of 
preaching  there,  he  wanted  to  see  his  mother's  grave. 
Besides,  there  was  a  little  property  which  he  would  have  to 
dispose  of. 

Marcus  walked  from  village  to  village  and  from 
farm  to  farm,  preaching  the  Gospel,  meeting  with  the 
usual  ups  and  downs  incident  to  missionary  life.  People 
had  very  little  use  for  religion.  The  great  question  be- 
fore the  country  was  politics.  Tha  .nation  was  in  a  tur- 
moil. Congress  was  vainly  trying  to  adjust  the  rights  of 
"slave  states"  and  "free  states."  Kansas  was  the  scene 
of  civil  war.  John  Brown  had  made  his  raid  on  Harper's 
Ferry,  had  been  captured  and  hanged.  Forebodings  of 
the  coming  conflict  filled  the  air,  and  Marcus  remembered 
the  utterances  of  the  Prophet  Joseph  on  the  subject. 

As  he  neared  Hungerton  it  seemed  to  Marcus  that 
people  became  more  indifferent  to  his  religious  teachings. 
Some  threatened  him  with  mob  violence  if  he  did  r  ot  leave 


102  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

the  country;  but  as  he  did  not  stop  long  in  cne  locality, 
they  did  not  disturb  him. 

One  day,  when  warm  spring  winds  had  begun  to 
thaw  the  snow,  Marcus  trudged  along  the  country  road. 
It  was  extremely  hard  walking  because  where  the  snow 
was  not  one  soft  slush  he  sank  over  his  shoe  tops  in  mud. 
He  had  walked  all  forenoon  and  had  failed  thus  far  to  get 
anything  to  eat.  He  had  no  money,  so  all  the  afternoon 
he  called  from  house  to  .house  in  hopes  of  getting  Gospel 
talks  and  something  to  eat;  but  each  succeeding  house 
seemed  more  hostile  than  the  one  before.  In  the  after- 
noon a  storm  came  up  and  the  rain  fell  in  torrents. 

Marcus'  clothes  were  wet  through,  but  on  he 
trudged.  Between  the  farmhouses  the  forest  began  to  be 
dense,  and  when  evening  came  on  he  found  it  difficult  to 
keep  the  road. 

Up  to  ten  o'clock  that  night  Marcus  had  asked  at 
twenty  one  places  for  lodging  and  each  time  had  been 
refused.  Now  he  resolved  to  ask  no  more,  but  walk  on 
in  the  storm  all  night  and  get  to  Hungerton  the  next  day. 
He  would  get  something  to  eat  and  a  place  to  rest  there. 

He  walked  slowly  on.  The  mud  and  water  ran  in 
and  out  of  his  shoes.  He  took  off  his  overcoat,  as  it  was 
filled  with  water  and  was  heavy.  The  trees  overhead 
obscured  the  little  light  in  the  sky.  The  wind  howled 
dismally.  Such  an  utter  loneliness  Marcus  had  never 
felt.  In  other  privations  he  had  had  human  company, 
but  here  he  was  alone,  and  not  a  soul  had  kindness 
enough  in  his  heart  to  take  in  from  the  storm  a  despised 
Mormon  Elder.  He  was  not  far  from  his  f crmer  home. 
No  doubt  many  along  the  road  would  have  known  him  had 
he  given  his  name.  Three  years  ago  he  could  have  driven 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  103 

along  the  same  road  as  the  Reverend  Marcus  King,  and 
would  have  been  royally  entertained  at  any  of  the  homes; 
but  now — well,  such  is  the  way  of  the  world.  He  did  not 
expect  any  better  treatment;  but,  ugh,  how  the  streams 
of  water  ran  down  his  back! 

He  walked  on,  and  the  rain  still  fell.  He  passed 
one  or  two  farm  houses,  but  they  were  dark  and  forebod- 
ing. He  would  travel  on.  Though  he  was  faint  and 
weak,  he  would  be  refused  no  more  that  night.  The 
mud  clung  to  his  feet  like  great  balls.  The  trees  brushed 
him  with  their  great  wet  arms. 

He  was  following  along  a  pole  fence  when  he  came 
to  a  clearing.  A  small  house  stood  close  to  the  road,  and 
from  a  window  a  shaft  of  light  shot  out  into  the  darkness. 
As  he  came  opposite  the'  door  he  heard  voices.  He 
would  ask  for  a  drink  of  water.  As  he  knocked  on  the 
door,  the  talking  within  ceased,  and  a  man  opened  it. 
Marcus  did  not  go  in,  dripping  wet  as  he  was. 

"Will  you  kindly  give  me  a  drink  of  water?"  he  said. 

"Come  in,  come  in,  sir;  come  in  out  of  the  storm," 
said  the  man. 

"I  am  dripping  wet." 

"That's  nothing;  you  can't  spoil  our  carpet."  The 
floor  was  of  cleanly  scrubbed  pine  boards. 

Marcus  stepped  in,  and  a  young  girl  gave  him  a  glass 
of  water.  A  large  open  fireplace  was  nearly  filled  with  a 
burning  log.  The  room  was  so  cozy,  but  Marcus  turned 
to  go  again. 

"Its  rather  bad  weather  for  traveling,"  said  the 
man,  "and  you're  out  late  tonight.  Walking  too?" 

"Yes,"  said  Marcus. 

The  wife  now  arose,  and  looked  at  her  husband.  She 


104  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

had  been  looking  intently  at  Marcus  all  the  time.  The 
man  understood. 

'  'Are  you  in  a  hurry?"  he  asked . 

"No;  but  I  have  no  place  to  stop  for  the  night,  so  I 
must  be  on  the  move." 

"Who  are  you?" 

"I  am  a  Mormon  Elder,  preaching  the  Gospel  with- 
out purse  or  scrip.  I  have  asked  for  shelter  and  food 
twenty-one  times  during  the  day,  and  have  been  refused 
each  time.  I  shall  ask  no  more/'  and  he  moved  towards 
the  door. 

"But,  great  God,  man,  if  you  want  to  stay  here, 
you're  welcome.  I  don't  care  what  you  are.  Yau're  cold 
and  wet  and  hungry,  and  that's  enough.  Come  up  to  the 
fire.  Wife,  get  him  something  to  eat." 

The  wife  did  not  obey  instantly,  but  she  came  up  to 
Marcus  to  take  his  dripping  hat  and  coat.  She  peered 
into  his  face  and  said: 

"Are  you  Marcus  King?" 

"lam.     That  is  my  name." 

"Why,  Henry!"  she  exclaimed,  "this  is  Marcus  King, 
your  old  pastor  at  Hungerton." 

The  man  came  up  also  and  took  Marcus'  hand.  He 
looked  closely  into  the  bearded  face. 

"Are  you  the  preacher  from  Hungerton?" 

"No,  Henry,"  interposed  the  woman,  "you  know  he 
left  Hungerton,  left  the  pulpit  and  the  church,  and  joined 
the  Mormons." 

Henry  Sanford  raised  one  hand  to  his  eyes  as  if  he 
would  clear  them  of  some  mist.  Then  he  knew  him,  and 
Marcus  too  recognized  his  friend  whom  he  had  last  seen 
in  Hungerton  jail,  a  religious  madman. 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  105 

"I  am  pleased  to  meet  you,  friend  Sanford, "  said 
Maicus.  "I  am  glad  that  you  are  looking  so  well,  you 
and  your  family." 

"Yes;  I  am  well  now,  and  am  rid  of  mind-destroying 
religion,  which  nearly  sent  me  to  the  asylum.  Religion  is 
the  greatest  curse  on  earth.  Perhaps  I  should  not  say 
that,  as  you  are  a  preacher.  But  I  can  prove  it.  The 
twenty- one  people  who  refused  you  shelter  and  food  are 
all  long- faced  Christians.  I — i  am  an  unbeliever,  an  infidel 
— mother,  what  are  we  doing?  Can't  you  see  he  is  nearly 
starved.  I'll  get  some  dry  clothes  for  you,  sir;  and  you'll 
stay  over  night  with  us.  This  weather  is  not  fit  for  a 
dog  to  travel  in." 

In  a  very  few  minutes  Marcus  had  on  dry  clothing, 
and  was  sitting  by  the  fire  eating  supper.  The  children 
stood  around  in  silence.  The  father  began  to  talk  about 
the  coming  presidential  election,  while  the  mother  urged 
him  to  eat;  but  the  hour  was  late,  and  soon  all  retired  for 

the  night. 

Marcus  stayed  with  them  all  the  next  day.  Mrs. 
Sanford  told  him  their  story,  how  that  Henry  had  gradu- 
ally regained  his  mind,  and  how  that  he  had  turned  rank  infi- 
del. But  it  was  a  thousand  times  better  than  the  way  he  was 
before,  she  said.  He  was  kind  to  her  and  the  children,  and 
they  all  lived  happily  on  the  farm  far  away  from  churches 
or  preachers.  Then  she  told  him  what  news  she  knew 
about  Hungerton.  He  also  had  long  talks  with  Henry, 
handling  him  wisely.  He  was  deeply  interested  in  politics, 
and  from  that  subject  Marcus  led  to  science  and  at  last 
to  religion.  Henry  listened  attentively. 

"Is  that  Mormonism?''  he  asked. 

"Yes." 


106  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

"Well,  there's  some  sense  to  that.  Why  didn't  you 
preach  like  that  when  you  were  in  Hungerton?" 

"I  could  not  give  what  I  did  not  have.  Now  I  have, 
and  am  sent  to  give." 

"You  hold  meetings?" 

"Whenever  I  get  a  chance." 

''Will  you  preach  in  our   schoolhouse  tomorrow?" 

"With  pleasure." 

4 'All  right,  I'll  see  to  it." 

And  he  did.  The  next  day  the  news  was  spread? 
and  early  in  the  afternoon  Henry  Sanford  drove  with  his 
whole  family  to  the  schoolhouse.  Some  said  that  he  had 
"got  religious"  again,  and  that  the  neighbors  had  better 
look  out  for  one  of  his  crazy  spells;  but  Henry  was  all 
right,  and  knew  what  he  was  doing. 

The  "religion''  which  Henry  Sanford  "got"  at  the 
meeting  in  the  schoolhouse  did  not  in  any  way  disturb  his 
mental  equilibrium.  Faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  re- 
pentance from  sin,  baptism  for  the  remission  of  sin,  the 
gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost — these  were  plain,  simple  truths 
substantiated  by  holy  writ.  The  room  was  fairly  well 
filled  with  people  from  the  neighboring  farms,  and  Marcus 
spoke  with  power  to  them.  A  few  had  known  him  when 
he  was  a  preacher  in  Hungerton,  and  wondered  at  his 
joining  the  Mormons.  "Such  a  young  man!"  said  one. 
"Such  a  fine  looking  man!"  said  another.  "Such  a  good 
talker !"«aid  a  third. 

Marcus  was  not  disturbed  until  towards  the  close  of 
the  meeting.  Then  a  man  in  a  farther  corner  began 
asking  questions.  Marcus  answered  them,  but  the  man 
was  not  satisfied.  Marcus  asked  his  hearers  to  let  him 
finish  his  talk,  and  then  he  would  answer  any  question; 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  107 

but  it  was  evident  that  the  plan  was  to  break  up  the  meet- 
ing. The  questioner  would  not  sit  down.  Others  began 
to  talk  out  loud,  and  it  seemed  as  though  the  meeting 
would  end  in  an  uproar. 

Just  then  Henry  Sanford  arose.  He  was  sitting  near 
the  front,  and  he  faced  the  crowd. 

"Ladies  and  gentlemen,"  said  he  in  ringing  words,  "I 
hope  we  are  p  aceable  citizens  and  will  give  this  gentle- 
man a  respectful  hearing.  He  will  answer  your  questions 
after  he  gets  through.  Can  there  be  any  thing  fairer  than 
that?" 

"His  doctrines  are  deceitful,"  shouted  someone. 

'"You  will  have  a  chance  to  prove  that  after  awhile, 
Mr.  Simpson,"  replied  Henry.  "I  don't  make  many  pre- 
tensions myself,  but  I  believe  in  the  golden  rule — the 
the  rule,  Mr.  Simpson,  that  I  have  heard  you  expound  more 
than  once.  Now  you  have  a  chance  to  practice  what  you 
preach.  Sit  down,  Mr.  Simpson,  and  don't  disturb  the 
meeting." 

As  Henry  was  the  justice  of  the  peace,  he  spoke  with 
authority.  The  noise  subsided,  and  the  meeting  went  on. 
At  its  close  no  questions  were  asked,  but  Mr.  Simpson  and 
his  followers  got  away  as  quickly  as  possible. 

Marcus  weit  back  with  his  friends,  and  spent  the 
night.  During  the  evening  some  neighbors  called  in  and 
they  had  a  pleasant  time.  Next  morning  Marcus  went  on 
his  journey.  Henry  would  have  taken  him  to  Hungerton 
in  his  wagon,  but  Marcus  said  he  preferred  to  walk.  The 
distance  was  short,  and  there  were  many  places  on  the 
way  where  he  desired  to  call. 

The  rain  had  ceased.  The 'few  remaining  clouds  were 
dissolving  in  the  western  sky,  and  the  sun  shone  bright 


108  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

and  warm.  The  roads  were  quite  firm  under  foot.  The 
trees  were  dry.  The  air  was  clear  and  cool,  and  full  of 
the  coming  spring. 

All  forenoon  Marcus  walked  along  the  road,  callirg 
at  the  few  farmhouses.  As  he  neared  Hungerton  the 
country  became  familiar  to  bin.  At  noon  he  ate  his 
lunch  on  the  bank  of  a  creek,  which  had  been  a  favorite 
playground  when  a  boy.  Here  he  had  often  fished,  and  in 
the  woods  surrounding  he  had  laid  snares  for  the  squirrels. 
The  creek  was  now  swollen  with  the  rain  and  rushed  down 
its  bed  in  a  brown  torrent.  Every  hill  and  dale  and  stream 
now  recalled  memories  of  the  past.  Marcus  lived  again 
as  a  boy  as  he  sauntered  leisurely  past  the  dear  familiar 
scenes  of  bygone  years. 

In  the  afternoon  he  reached  the  "top,"  so  called  be- 
cause from  its  summit  the  whole  valley  wherein  Hunger- 
ton  lay  could  be  seen.  The  road  skirted  this  knoll,  and 
often  had  Marcus  climbed  the  few  rods  up  to  its  bare 
rounded  surface,  even  as  he  now  did.  Here  he  got  the 
first  view  of  the  broad,  still-flowing  river,  within  whose 
bended  arm  the  town  of  Hungerton  snugly  rested.  The 
same  rude  seat  which  had  been  erected  on  the  "top"  was 
there  yet;  and  as  Marcus  rested  on  its  weather  beaten 
boards,  he  discerned  the  initials  which  he  and  his  boy 
companions  had  carved  on  the  back.  It  seemed  so  long 
ago,  at  the  same  time  but  yesterday.  Where  now  were 
the  boys?  What  had  been  their  lot?  Where  had  they 
roamed,  and  where  settled?  How  many  of  those  yet  in 
the  town  before  him  would  recognize  the  browned, 
bearded  man  as  their  former  playmate?  What  schemes 
they  all  had  planned !  Yes,  seated  on  that  same  hill  top, 
with  the  same  beautiful  panorama  before  them,  they  had 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMOM.  109 

mapped  out  their  lives,  as  seemed  grandest  and  be^t  to 
their  boyish  imaginations.  There  was  Joe,  big,  strong 
Joe.  He  was  to  be  a  merchant  and  marry  sunny-haired 
Josie;  but  Joe  turned  student  and  became  a  college  pro- 
fessor, and  didn't  marry"  Josie  Then  Jim,  the  fastest 
runner  in  the  crowd,  whose  whole  aim  in  life  was  to  learn 
to  pitch  a  curved  ball — he  went  to  school  with  Marcus,  and 
became  a  preacher  too.  Then  there  was  Tom,  tow-headed, 
freckled-faced  Tom,  who  took  all  the  bantering  the  boys 
and  girls  gave  him  in  such  a  quiet,  good-humored  way. 
The  last  heard  of  him  was  that  he  was  on  his  way  to  the 
gold  fields  of  California.  Then  Fred,  who  crushed  his  leg 
in  the  woods  and  ever  after  walked  with  a  crutch.  He, 
instead  of  Joe,  became  the  merchant  and  married  sunny- 
haired  Josie.  There  was  little  Sammy,  who  couldn't 
climb  the  hill  without  geti  ing  out  of  breath.  He  alone 
had  not  wandered,  as  the  little  white  cross  in  the  grave- 
yard showed.  Then  there  was  Marcus,  whose  father  was 
the  minister,  who  was  supposed  to  set  the  other  boys  a 
good  example.  What  had  become  of  him?  Ah;  he  had 
become  the  black  sheep  of  the  lot,  he  had  disgraced  the 
community,  had  <veserted  his  church  and  his  charge,  and, 
wo^st  of  all,  had  become  a  Mormon. 

Marcus  sat  until  the  sun  sank  low  in  the  west.  The 
river  burned  with  burnished  gold.  The  breeze  tossed  the 
swelled  buds  of  the  trees  back  and  forth,  as  if  rocking  to 
sleep  the  impatient,  waking  children  of  the  forest.  Then 
the  sun  went  down,  and  the  gray  shadows  crept  over  the 
valley  below,  crept  up  the  hill  sides,  crept  up  over  the 
'  'top,"  and  the  whole  earth  was  enwrapped  in  a  soft  twi- 
light. Then  the  heart  of  the  young  man  was  full.  There 
was  nothing  else  for  him  to  do  but  to  sink  on  the  earth 


110  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

beside  the  seat  and  pour   out  to  God  the  fullness  of  his 
bursting  heart. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

The  gas  had  been  lighted  in  the  streets  of  Hungerton 
when  Marcus  entered.  He  meant  first  to  find  the  lawyer 
who  had  charge  of  his  small  business  affairs.  He  had  no 
money,  and  he  did  not  wish  to  ask  for  food  and  lodging 
without  money  to  pay.  So  he  walked  up  the  main  street, 
noting  the  changes  in  the  town  and  the  people.  No  one 
knew  him,  although  he  recognized  many  of  his  old-time 
friends.  There  was  a  peculiar  feeling  connected  with  it 
all.  There  he  was,  a  total  stranger  in  a  town  full  of  peo- 
ple who  knew  him.  They  crowded  past  him  on  the  side- 
walk, but  knew  him  not.  He  must  have  changed  much. 

And  there  was  the  church.  He  saw  its  outlines  in 
the  dark,  and  there  were  lights  within.  Yes;  there  were 
the  iron  fence  and  gate.  The  same  lamp-post  stood  near 
it.  The  trees  seemed  larger,  but  the  church  smaller.  He 
walked  by.  People  were  entering.  A  block  up  the  street 
was  the  lawyer's  home.  He  would  call  there,  as  he  would 
not  likely  be  at  the  office. 

Marcus  rang  the  bell,  and  the  girl  that  answered  him 
said  that  Mr.  Brown,  the  lawyer,  was  out  of  town,  but 
would  be  back  tomorrow.  So  until  tomorrow  Marcus  would 
have  to  wait.  He  went  down  the  street  again.  People 
were  still  going  into  the  church.  Some  carriages  drove 
up  and  their  occupants  alighted  at  the  gate.  There  must 
be  some  special  services,  or  else  the  people  had  awakened 
to  the  importance  of  the  week-day  meeting.  Marcus 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  Ill 

might  as  well  join  the  crowd  and  get  a  look  at  the  old 
church.  He  went  in  and  found  a  seat  at  the  rear  near  the 
door.  The  church  was  nearly  full.  The  lights  shone 
brightly,  and  the  many  flowers  in  front  filled  the  room 
with  their  perfume.  Being  early  for  flowers,  Marcus 
wondered  at  the  extravagance.  The  usher  was  unknown 
to  Marcus,  so  he  was  allowed  to  siC  unobserved. 

For  a  moment  Marcus  felt  out  of  place  down  by  the 
door.  He  saw  that  the  pulpit  had  been  re-painted  and 
upholstered;  otherwise  it  was  the  same  church.  The  walls 
were  getting  dingy,  and  some  of  the.seats  showed  signs  of 
wear.  It  certainly  was  getting  too  small  for  such  a  crowd 
of  people. 

And  now  the  organist  who  had  done  faithful  service 
for  both  Marcus  and  his  father  went  to  the  organ,  and  the 
familiar  notes  echoed  into  the  ears  of  Marcus  King.  They 
brought  him  back  again  to  days  gone  by  when  he  himself 
gave  out  the  hymn  and  preached  the  sermon.  The  pastor 
now  came  in  from  the  back  door.  He  was  a  middle-aged 
man  with  a  cleanly  shaven  face  So  that  was  his  successor 
in  office,  thought  Marcus.  Well,  he  certainly  looked  pious 
enough  to  suit  the  most  orthodox.  The  pastor  did  not 
proceed  with  the  services,  but  arranged  the  flowers  as  if 
he  was  waiting  for  something.  Then  Marcus  learned  from 
the  whispering  around  him  that  he  was  about  to  witness  a 
marriage  ceremony/  He  wzs  somewhat  disappointed,  as 
he  had  expected  to  hear  the  new  pastor. 

More  carriages  drive  up,  and  there  is  a  bustle  out- 
side. The  people  turn  and  look  towards  the  door  and 
whisper,  ' 'There  they  come."  The  party  come  up  the 
walk  and  into  the  vestibule  where  there  is  some  delay. 
Then  they  enter.  Marcus  does  not  turn  around,  but  first 


112  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

catches  sight  of  them  as  they  walk  up  the  aisle.  The  man 
is  tall  and  broad-  shouldered;  the  girl's  slim,  graceful  figure 
is  clothed  in  white.  ''The  best  men"  and  bridesmaids  fol- 
low, and  Marcus  distinguishes  among  them  some  of  his  ac- 
quaintances. The  parson  meets  the  company  in  front  of 
the  pulpit,  and  is  arranging  them  into  their  proper  places 
for  the  ceremony. 

Marcus  is  now  interested.  He  had  not  married  many 
couples  himself,  but  he  remembered  one  old  pair  of  fifty 
and  sixty,  and  how  odd  it  was  for  him,  a  young  unmarried 
man,  to  bind  together  such  old  peopK  But  now  the  group 
is  arranged,  and  the  young  people  to  be  married  step  to  the 
front.  The  gas  lamps  shine  directly  on  them,  and  Marcus 
sees,  apparently  looking  directly  at  him,  the  pale  beautiful 
face  of  Alice  Merton! 

For  an  instant  the  whole  scene  is  a  blur  on  his  vision; 
then  from  it  comes  but  one  sharp  outline,  the  figure  of 
Alice.  She  stands  there,  young  and  fair  and  more  beautiful 
than  ever.  She  folds  her  hands  in  front  where  they  hang 
listlessly  down,  as  if  she  were  a  victim  waiting  resignedly 
for  the  sacrifice.  Her  face  is  white. 

The  awful  truth  bursts  upon  Marcus  as  with  a  mighty 
flood.  There  .  is  Alice,  his  Alice,  to  be  married,  to  be 
bound  for  life  to  the  man  at  her  side.  The  thought 
is  unbearable.  Marcus  presses  hard  the  back  of  the  chair 
in  front  of  him.  Yet  there  they  stand.  The  parson  is 
slow  in  beginning. 

During  that  brief  space  of  time  Marcus  lived  over 
again  his  life  with  Alice  Merton.  (Afterwards  he  thought 
of  the  wonder  of  it  all,  how  that  every  detail  of  years 
could  be  crowd*  d  into  a  panorama  to  be  flashed  before  his 
mind  in  an  instant).  Then  as  a  climax  came  again  the 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  113 

last  scene  between  them.  But  what  could  he  do?  He 
was  helpless.  She  would  have  to  go.  She  would  have  to 
be  another's,  and  not  his  wife. 

The  minister  steps  up  to  the  pair,  the  woman  on  the 
left,  and  the  man  on  the  right.  Then  to  the  hushed 
spectators  he  begins  to  speak,  quoting  from  the  printed 
formula  used  on  such  occasions: — 

"Dearly  beloved,  we  are  gathered  together  here  in 
the  sight  of  God,  and  in  the  face  of  this  company,  to  join 
together  this  man  and  this  woman  in  holy  matrimony; 
which  is  commended  of  St.  Paul  to  be  honorable  among 
men:  and  therefore  is  not  by  any  to  be  entered  into  unad- 
visedly or  lightly;  but  reverently,  discreetly,  advisedly, 
soberly,  and  in  the  fear  of  God.  Into  this  holy  estate 
these  two  persons  present  come  now  to  be  joined.  If  any 
man  can  show  just  cause  why  -they  may  not  lawfully  be 
joined  together,  let  him  now  speak,  or  else  hereafter  for- 
ever hold  his  peace.0 

1  'Darling,  darling,  you  are  mine,  my  very  own  jor 
time  and  for  eternity"  rang  in  Marcus'  ears  louder  than 
the  words  of  the  minister.  Those  words  were  inspired 
and  could  not  fall  to  the  ground'unfulfilled. 

Marcus  arose  and  stepped  out  in  the  aisle. 

"Alice,  Alice  Morton,  I  object  to  your  marrying  that 
man."  he  said. 

He  stood  still  and  erect  amid  the  deathlike  silence. 
Most  of  them  knew  him  then  by  the  familiar  voice,  and 
they  were  awed  by  the  scene.  The  parson  had  never 
been  interrupted  like  that  before,  and  was  visibly  uncer- 
tain what  to  do.  The  bridegroom  turned  to  him  and  bade 
him  go  on  with  the  ceremony.  Then  Marcus  spoke  again 
in  tones  not  loud  but  penetrating: 


114  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

"I  am  Marcus  King.  Alice,  do  not  marry  that  man. 
You  are  mine,  mine,  Alice,  by  the  eternal  laws  of  God." 

An  audible  oath  escaped  from  the  lips  of  the  would- 
be  bridegroom.  Murmurs  ran  through  the  church,  then 
there  was  silence  again  as  Alice  raised  her  hands  to  her 
head.  She  t)ok  a  step  or  two  forward  as  if  she  would 
walk  down  the  aisle,  and  then  fell  to  the  floor. 

In  the  confusion  which  followed  Marcus  stepped  back 
to  the  door,  and  stood  there  looking  or,.  Those  that 
pa3sed  out  glared  at  him,  as  they  would  at  a  venomous  rep- 
tile. He  saw  that  Alice  was  lifted  up  and  carried  to  the 
platform,  and  when  she  again  regained  consciousness  he 
heard  her  whisper: 

"Take  me  home." 

Then  he  went  out  and  up  the  street. 

For  the  second  time  Marcus  King  had  made  a  great 
sensation  in  his  native  town.  By  the  next  day  the  news 
was  the  talk  of  the  town.  Opinions  were  various.  Some 
claimed  that  he  did  right  in  rescuing  Alice  Merton  from 
ihe  hands  of  an  adventurer.  Some  said  that  the  Mormon 
should  have  been  tarred  and  feathered  and  driven  from 
the  country.  Others  shook  their  heads  and  didn't  know. 
A  few  had  seen  Marcus'  weatler- stained  coat,  but  more 
had  observed  his  majestic  bearing  as  he  had  stood  in  the 
aisle  protesting  against  the  marriage. 

Marcus  himself  had  gone  that  evening  direct  to  a 
hotel  and  ordered  supper  and  a  bed. 

During  the  night  he  slept  fairly  well,  and  next  morn- 
ing managed  to  reach  Mr.  Brown's  office  without  a  stir  on 
the  street.  The  business  that  could  be  attended  to  that 
morning  being  soon  finished,  Marcus  went  back  to  the 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  115 

hotel  where  he  spent  the  day  reading  and  writing  letters. 
Here  he  heard  the  gossip  and  gleaned  from  it  that  Alice 
had  been  taken  home.  The  marriage  had  been  indefinitely 
postponed.  In  fact,  .the  would-be  bridegroom  had  some- 
what brusquely  demanded  ttat  the  ceremony  should  go 
on,  and  had  quarreled  with  Alice's  old  father.  Then  he 
had  left,  no  one  knew  where,  and  it  was  believed  by  many 
that  he  was  afraid  of  Marcus,  that  Marcus  knew  some- 
thing more  of  him  than  anyone  else  in  Hungerton.  When 
Marcus  was  approached  on  the  matter  and  when  he  denied 
any  previous  knowledge  of  the  man,  plainly  he  was  not 
believed. 

But  what  move  to  make  next  was  not  clear  to  Elder 
King.  He  would  have  to  stay  a  few  days  in  the  town, but 
what  to  do  about  Alice  he  knew  not.  He  did  not  repent 
of  what  he  had  done  in  the  church,  for  many  said  that  the 
man  she  was  about  to  marry  was  an  adventurer;  besides, 
he  had  other  and  personal  reasons.  But  what  good  would 
come  of  it,  anyway?  He  longed  to  boldly  call  on  Alice. 
She  must  be  very  ill,  by  what  he  heard;  and  he  could  be- 
lieve that  from  the  face  he  saw  in  the  church.  Marcus 
had  concluded  that  he  must  s^e  Alice  before  he  left 
Hungerton  for  good,  but  for  that  opening  he  could  only 
wait. 

All  the  day  he  moved  about  no  more  than  was  neces- 
sary; not  that  he  was  afraid  of  anybody,  but  he  considered 
it  wisdom  to  be  quiet.  A  few  friends  called  on  him,  with 
whom  he  talked  pleasantly,  and  told  of  the  new  country 
in  the  valleys  of  the  West.  That  evening  he  visited  some 
relatives  of  John  and  Eliza  Dixon,  and  got  home  late.  The 
next  day  he  was  busy  with  Lawyer  Brown  until  in  the 
afternoon. 


116  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

Looking  out  of  the  window  of  his  room,  he  saw  Mr. 
Merton  drive  up  to  the  hotel  in  the  old  familiar  buggy. 
He  got  out,  fastened  his  horse,  and  came  in.  Presently, 
there  came  a  knock  on  the  door  and  a  boy  told  him  that 
he  was  wanted. 

"Is  it  Mr.  Merton?"  asked  Marcus. 

"Yes,  sir." 

"Then  show  him  up." 

Mr.  Merton  had  aged  very  much.  Marcus  could  see 
that  his  hair  was  white  and  that  his  hands  trembled  as  he 
met  him  in  the  hall  and  led  him  into  his  room.  The  old 
man  was  not  angry,  but  shook  the  hand  that  Marcus 
offered  him  in  a  mild,  unconcerned  way.  Then  he  took  the 
proffered  chair  and  sat  and  looked  at  Marcus  for  some 
time. 

"May  I  ask  you  how  Alice  is?"  said  Marcus. 

"She  is  ill,  very  ill,  sir." 

Still  he  looked  at  the  young  man  in  that  strange 
way. 

* '!  sincerely  hope,  Mr.  Merton,  that  I  was  not  the 
cause  of  this  illness — perhaps  I  should  not  have  been  so 
rash — but  you  know — " 

"Yes;  I  know.  Don't  worry  over  that,  young  man. 
Alice  was  ill  all  the  time,  and  should  not  have  tried— but 
he  forced  it.  I  might  as  well  tell  you  the  truth,  and  that 
is  that  you  did  a  good  deed  in  stopping  the  marriage.  I, 
Marcus" — and  as  the  old  man  pronounced  the  word,  his 
tone  became  softer — "never  encouraged  Alice  in  casting 
you  off,  when  you  joined  the  Mormons.  She  did  it  on  her 
own  responsibility.  Are  you  still  a  Mormon?" 

'Tes,  sir." 

'  'Well,  it's  all  right,  I  guess.      Everybody  to  their 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  117 

notion  abo  it  such  things,  though  I  must  say  that  I  think 
it  would  have  been  much  more  comfortable  if  you  had  re- 
mained with  us.  And  now,  what  I  came  for  is  this:  Alice 
wants  to  see  you.  Will  you  come?" 

Marcus'  heart  gave  one  great  leap  for  joy. 

"It  will  be  the  greatest  pleasure  of  my  life,"  said 
Marcus,  "to  once  more  look  upon  her  face." 

"Then  you  love  her  yet?" 

"I  have  never  ceased  to. love  her." 

"And  she  loves  you,  too/'  the  old  man  murmured  as 
they  walked  into  the  hall. 

In  a  few  minutes  Marcus  and  Mr.  Merton  were  driving 
from  the  city  out  into  a  country  road  which  followed  the 
broad  river.  Very  few  words  were  spoken.  Soon  they 
came  in  sight  of  the  gray  farm  house  back  towards  the 
hills,  up  to  which  they  drove.  Marcus  knew  the  place 
well  and  remembered  its  beauty  in  the  summer  when  the 
trees  nearly  hid  it  from  view;  but  now  it  had  grown  gray 
and  weather-stained,  corresponding  to  the  sombre  woods 
around  it. 

Marcus  alighted  at  the  side  door  and  was  met  by  the 
mother.  She  took  his  hand  and  welcomed  him,  but  there 
was  a  coldness  about  her.  She  took  his  hat  and  gave 
him  a  chair. 

"Alice  wants  to  see  you/'  she  said.  "If  you  will  ex- 
cuse me  for  a  few  moments  I  will  see  if  she  is  awake/' 

During  her  absence,  Mr.  Merton  came  in.  While  he 
was  hanging  his  coat  in  the  hall,  he  motioned  to  Marcus. 

"You  must  excuse  mother,"  he  said,  "if  she  treats 
you  coldly.  She  doesn't  understand.  She  believes  in  Mr. 
Carlton  yet,  and  blames  you.  She  has  had  great  influence 
over  Alice,  and  nearly  forced  her  into  the  marriage,  and 


118  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

it  is  only  for  Alice's  sake  that  she  will  have  you   come. 
You  understand,  Marcus?" 

"I  can  appreciate  her  feelings,  I  think,"  was  the 
answer.  ''I  do  not  blame  her.''  . 

They  went  in  again,  and  soon  the  mother  came  back. 
Alice  was  awake,  and  feeling  strong  enough  to  see  Mar- 
cus, so  he  was  shown  into  her  room.  The  mother  went 
out  and  closed  the  door,  leaving  the  two  alone.  Alice 
had  asked  her  to  do  that. 

Tne  afternoon  sun  shone  bright  and  warm,  and  the 
blinds  of  the  large  west  window  were  drawn.  A  ray, 
however,  came  through  at  the  side,  and  now  fell  across 
the  bed  where  Alice  lay  propped  up  on  the  white  pillows. 
When  she  saw  him,  she  said  "Marcus!"  and  held  out  her 
arms.  He  walked  softly  up  to  the  bed,  bent  over  her, 
and  the  white  arms  encircled  his  neck.  She  drew  his 
head  down  beside  hers  and  held  it  fast  while-  she  whis- 
pered: 

"Forgive  me,  Marcus,  forgive  me!" 

But  all  he  could  say  was  "Darling,  oh,  my  darling!" 

There  are  times  when  many  words  are  weak,  mean- 
ingless things,  and  that  time  had  come  in  the  life  of  Mar- 
cus and  Alice.  Language  may  communicate  thought,  but 
that  was  not  what  was  wanted  now.  The  feelings  of  two 
souls  had  accumulated,  and  had  been  pent  up  for  a  long 
time.  The  natural  channel  between  two  hearts  had  been 
clogged.  But  now  every  obstacle  was  removed,  and  free- 
ly the  current  of  love  flowed  between  them.  The  emo- 
tions are  best  indicated  by  a  look,  a  motion,  a  pressure  of 
the  hand.  Words  are  useless.  Silence  is  the  most  elo- 
quent. 

Then  the  arms  relaxed  and  fell  down  on  the  coverlet, 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  119 

and  as  Marcus  sat  by  the  bedside  he  took  the  thin 
hands  in  his  and  held  them  gently.  The  big  blue  eyes 
filled  with  tears,  yet  she  smiled  through  them. 

"You  have  forgiven  me,"  she  said,  "and I  thank  you, 
Marcus. " 

Then  she  closed  hp.r  eyes  as  if  to  sleep,  and  he 
smoothed  back  the  hair  from  her  forehead. 

"It's  been  too  much  for  you.  You  are  tired.  I 
shall  go  now  that  you  may  sleep." 

"I  am  tired,  and  I  believe  I  could  sleep  if  you  will 
stay.  Marcus  you  must  not  go  away  any  more,  you  must 
stay  until — " 

1  'Yes,  I  will  not  leave  you  untill  you  are  well — but 
don't  talk  any  more.  There,  now,  you  must  rest." 

He  kissed  her  closed  eyes  and  softly  left  the  room. 
The  father  was  walking  back  and  forth  on  the  floor;  the 
mother  sat  by  the  table  with  her  face  in  her  hands. 

"I  think  Alice  will  sleep  now,"  said  Marcus." 

The  father  gave  a  sigh  of  relief.  '  'She  has  hardly 
slept  for  two  nights, "  he  said. 

The  mother  also  felt  better,  and  was  more  cheerful 
as  she  walked  back  and  forth  from  the  supper  .table  to 
the  door  of  the  sick  room,  and  seemed  to  feel  more  kindly 
towards  Marcus.  After  supper  Alice  awoke  much  re- 
freshed. The  lamp  was  lighted  and  the  three  went  in. 
Alice  spoke  to  them  in  a  cheerful  way.  Then  the  doctor 
came.  The  father  and  Marcus  went  with  him  outside  to 
hear  his  opinion.  He  shook  his  head. 

"But  she  is  better,  isn't  she?"  asked  the  father. 

"She  seems  so,this  evening;  but  it  is  only  temporary. 
The  girl  has  no  vitality.  She  is  all  run  down.  This  has 


120  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

been  with  her  fo.r  a  long  time.      The  attempted  marriage 

only  brought  the  inevitable  a  little  sooner. " 

X     "Is  it  that  serious,  doctor?"  asked  Marcus  somewhat 

alarmed. 

"I  am  telling  you  the  truth.  I  do  not  care  to  con- 
ceal the  facts  from  you.  There  are  very  small  chances 
of  her  recovery.  She  may  linger  for  some  time  or  she 
may  go  rapidly." 

Mrs.  Merton  asked  Marcus  for  Alice's  sake  to  remain 
at  the  farm  house.  If  he  was  not  busy,  they  would  con- 
sider it  a  favor;  and  Marcus  said  he  would  stay  as  long  as 
he  could  be  of  any  use. 

The  doctor's  words  could  not  be  doubted.  The  next 
day  Alice  was  weak,  weaker  than  usual;  and  although 
she  did  not  talk  much,  there  was  a  smile  upon  her  face. 
Marcus  sat  by  the  bedside  and  she  seemed  content  when 
her  hand  lay  in  his.  The  mother  saw,  and  now  under- 
stood, and  left  them  alone  much  of  the  time. 

Spring  days  came  on  in  rapid  succession.  The  sun 
was  bright,  the  winds  were  warm,  and  all  nature  stirred 
in  its  efforts  to  awake  from  its  wintry  sleep.  The  grass 
on  the  sunny  sides  of  walls  and  ridges  began  to  be  green. 
The  buds  of  trees  swelled  ready  to  bursting.  The  bees 
came  from  the  hive  and  buzzed  around  the  windows.  The 
air  was  filled  with  fresh  spring  odors. 

And  as  everything  without  slowly  awoke  to  life,  so 
one  within  gently  sank  into  death.  The  spring  days  went 
calmly  by,  and  Marcus  was  yet  at  the  farm  house. 

It  was  one  of  those  still  afternoons  when  the  world 
seemed  taking  a  much  needed  rest  that  Marcus  was  sit- 
ting in  his  usual  place  by  Alice.  They  were  alone.  The 
few  sounds  from  the  adjoining  rooms  were  low;  the  loud- 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  121 

est  seemed  to  come  from  the  little  round  clock  on  the 
mantel. 

'  'Marcus,  bless  me  again.  I  want  you  to  talk  more 
to  me." 

Marcus  took  from  his  pocket  a  vial  of  oil,  anointed 
her  with  a  few  drops,  and  then,  placing  his  hands  on  her 
head,  blessed  her. 

4 'Now  I  feel  stronger,"  she  said.  "Tell  me  more 
about  Joseph  Smith  and  what  he  did — and  the  angels  and 
all  those  wonderful  things." 

And  he  talked,  quietly  and  in  soft  tones,  and  told  her 
the  whole  beautiful  story. 

"And  out  there  in  Utah,"  she  continued,  "you  said 
it  was  a  wild  country.  Tell  me  about  it." 

So  he  told  her  of  the  mountains  and  the  valleys,  the 
streams  and  the  Great  Salt  Lake, 

"Marcus,  that  friend  of  yours — Janet.  Have  you 
her  picture?" 

'  'I  think  I  have  a  small  tintype." 

"Will  you  let  me  see  it?'* 

From  a  packet  of  letters  he  drew  out  the  picture  and 
handed  it  to  her.  She  looked  at  it  for  some  time. 

It  is  a  good,  sweet  face;  and  you  like  her,  don't  you, 
Marcus?" 

"She  is  a  good  girl." 

"Yes;  much  better  than  I — sh,  don't  contradict  me. 
I  know.  I  know  a  lot  now.  When  I  am  gone,  you  will 
go  back  to  Utah  and  marry  her." 

''My  dear  Alice — " 

"Yes;  I  want  you  to.  It's  all  right.  Bring  me  that 
little  box  on  the  dresser." 

Marcus  brought  it. 


122  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

"The  key  is  hanging  on  the  wall;  yes;  that's  ic." 

She  unlocked  the  small  rosewood  box  and  from  it 
took  a  letter  which  she  handed  to  him. 

"That  letter  is  from  Janet.  It  is  the  most  wonderful 
I  havfl  ever  received.  I  did  not  know  a  girl  could  write 
such  a  letter  and  mean  it.  Did  she  mean  it,  Marcus?" 

"Janet  would  deceive  no  one;  but  of  course  I  don't 
know  what  she  said. ' ' 

' 'Read  it." 

Marcus  read  the  letter,  and  Alice  watched  his  face. 

"I  think  she  means  every  word,"  he  said. 

"What  does  she  mean  by  marriage  for  time  and 
eternity?" 

He  explained. 

Then  she  closed  her  eyes,  and  held  the  tintype  to  her 
cheek.  The  mother  looked  in  but  did  not  enter. 

Alice  reached  for  his  hand,  and  she  held  it  close. 

"Marcus,  Marcus,  oh,  I  am  so  glad!  Such  light, 
such  blessed  light!  I  can  die  in  peace." 

Then  she  fumbled  in  the  box  again  and  found  a  ring 

"Do  you  remember  it,  Marcus?  You  gave  it  to  me. 
Now  I  want  you  to  give  it  to  Janet  with  my  love  and  bles- 
sing." 

Marcus  took  it,  but  his  heart  was  too  full  for  words. 
The  clock  ticked  on.  A  breeze  pushed  the  branches 
against  the  window  panes.  The  tintype  dropped  from  the 
pale  fingers,  and  Alice  slept  again. 

Marcus  stayed  with  her  to  the  last.  The  grass  and 
the  trees  were  green  and  the  first  spring  flowers  were 
out  when  she  died.  Marcus  prevailed  on  the  father  and 
mother  to  let  her  be  buried  in  his  own  lot,  close  beside 
his  mother.  The  old  parents  now  seemed  to  cling  to  Mai- 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  123 

cus  as  to  a  son,  and  it  was  a  sad  day  when  he  bade  them 
farewell.  While  at  Hungerton  Marcus  received  a  call  to 
another  field,  and  he  at  once  made  preparations  for  the 
journey.  He  held  no  public  meetings  in  his  native  town. 
The  Lord  would  excuse  him  for  that,  he  thought;  but  be- 
fore he  left  he  had  the  rude  crosses  taken  from  his  parents' 
graves  and  three  neatly  finished  marble  stones  placed 
within  the  new  iron  railing  around  his  lot.  One  of  them 
stood  by  a  newly  made  grave,  and  on  it  was  inscribed,  be- 
sides the  name  and  dates: 

There  is  no  death!    What  seems  so  is  transition. 

This  life  of  mortal  breath 
Is  but  a  suburb  of  the  life  elysian, 

Whose  portal  we  call  death. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

It  was  one  of  those  sublime  winter  evenings  only  seen 
in  the  clear  atmosphere  of  the  high  western  regions.  The 
whole  earth  was  white  below,  and  the  sky  above  was  deep 
blue,  set.  with  innumerable  twinkling  diamond  points.  To 
'the  west  the  plain  stretched  like  a  vast  sheet  of  purest 
white.  To  the  east  the  mountains  arose  buried  under 
their  ermine  covering.  Every  rocky  crag,  each  deep  hol- 
low, was  decked  and  filled  with  snow  until  the  otherwise 
rough  surface  was  shining  smooth. 

The  well-trodden  snow  creaked  under  their  feet  as 
Marcus  and  Janet  walked  arm  in  arm  down  the  principal 
street  of  Hernia. 

"What  is  this  business  of  so  much  importance?" 
asked  he. 


124  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

''Well,  they  didn't  tell  me,  of  course,"  she  answered. 
'  'All  I  was  to  do  was  to  bring  you  there  and  ask-  no  ques- 
tions."' 

"Strange,  they  couldn't  manage  for  another  day  with- 
out getting  after  a  fellow  the  day  he  gets  home— I  wanted 
to  spend  the  evening  with  you,  Janet." 

"Well,"  she  laughed,  as  she  clung  the  closer  to  his 
arm,  "am  I  not  with  you?" 

"Yes,  but — halloa,  what's  this?  Who's  living  in  my 
house?" 

"Let's  go  in  and  see." 

They  paused  in  front  of  the  house  Marcus  had  left 
unfinished.  He  saw  that  it  was  now  completed.  A  bright 
light  gleamed  from  the  windows,  and  the  smoke  curled 
from  the  chimney.  Janet  led  down  the  path  and  knocked 
on  the  door.  When  it  was  opened,  there  was  a  room  full 
of  people. 

"Brothers  and  sisters,"  said  Janet,  "let  me  introduce 
you  to  the  Bishop  of  Hernia." 

Then  what  a  scene  there  was!  The  crowd  filled  two 
large  rooms,  and  around  he  must  go  and  shake  every  one 
by  the  hand.  Then  there  were  welcomes  and  questions 
and  words  of  jolly  banter,  until  Marcus  was  fairly  carried 
away  by  it  all.  When  he  had  made  the  rounds,  Janet  was 
again  at  his  side.  The  older  members  of  the  company 
each  took  a  candle  and  marched  two  by  two  into  the  third 
room.  In  the  center  was  a  long  table  spread  with  food. 
As  they  filed  in  and  seated  themselves  on  the  benches  on 
each  side,  the  candles  were  placed  in  wooden  blocks  with 
holes  in.  Marcus  and  Janet  sat  at  the  head  of  the  table. 
A  blessing  was  asked,  and  then  one  of  Marcus'  counselors 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  125 

made  a  speech  of  welcome,  to  which  Marcus  replied  in  a 
few  words. 

Then  the  eating  began,  and  right  merrily  it  went  on  for 
a  time.  Suddenly,  in  the  midst  of  the  confusion, somebody 
pounded  on  the  table  for  order,  and  Brother  Wood  arose. 

"I  want  to  speak  in  this  meetin',"  he  began,  "  'cause 
Brother  Johnson  didn't  tell  it  all.  I  reckon  Brother  King 
ought'er  know  why  we  have  took  such  liberties  with  his 
house,  an'  I  want  ter  tell  him."  [*'  That's  right.  Go  ahead".] 

"Well,  yer  see,  when  a  man's  on  a  mission  his  affairs 
at  home  kinder  stop,  an'  when  he  gits  back,  he  has  to  be- 
gin all  over  again.  I've  seen  it  lots  o'  times."  ["Hear, 
hear!  So  have  /."] 

"So,  thinks  I,  Brother  King'll  need  a  house  when  he 
comes  home  to  put  his  wife  in,  'cause  then  o'  course  he'll 
take  fur  good  Brother  Brigham's  advice.  [Loud  applause.] 
Well,  an'  right  now  I  must  make  a  confession.  All  you 
folks  thought  I  had  orders  from  Brother  King  to  go  ahead 
with  the  house,  but  I  didn't;  I  done  it  on  my  own  hook. 
["Oh,  oh"]  Yes,  I  could  see  that  the  Bishop  didn't  know 
nothin'  about  buildin'  log  houses,  an'  that  the  way  he  was 
doin'  it  would  spile  a  lot  o'  good  logs,  so  while  all  his 
beautiful  plans  and  drawin's  on  paper  was  locked  up  in  his 
box,  I  went  to  work  an'  finished  this  house  'cording  to  my 
notion."  [Tremendous  applause  and  laughter.] 

"An'  folks,"  with  a  wave  of  his  hand,  "I  tell  ye,  with 
the  'ception  of  the  meetin'house,  it's  the  finest  in  the 
town.  It  has  all  the  latest  improvements  an' — " 

His  speech,  which  was  the  longest  he  had  ever  been 
known  to  make,  was  interrupted  by  a  burst  of  song  from 
the  other  rooms,  and  Brother  Wood  had  to  sit  down. 

So  the  evening  passed,  and  at  its  close  Marcus  again 


126  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

thanked  them  all,  and  especially  Brother  Wood.  Marcus 
and  Janet  stood  by  the  door  and  shook  each  one  by  the 
hand  as  they  went  home.-  John  and  Eliza  were  the  last. 

"You  folks  go  on  home,"  said  John  to  Marcus.  "We'll 
see  to  the  house." 

Marcus  wrapped  Janet's  cloak  about  her  with  a  tender 
touch,  and  they  walked  home  in  the  starlight. 

The  next  afternoon  it  snowed.  Marcus  went  over  to 
Janet's.  She  was  alone.  The  grate  was  full  of  a  warm 
fire.  The  little  room  looked  very  much  the  same  as  it  did 
three  years  ago.  Janet  must  have  expected  company. 
She  did  not  wear  her  working  dress,  and  there  was  just  a 
tiny  wave  in  her  hair. 

"Janet,"  said  Marcus,  "I  believe  you  have  grown. 
You  look  taller.'' 

You  must  be  mistaken;  but  I  have  had  fine  health. 
Haven't  been  sick  a  day.  Perhaps  that  accounts  for  it." 

"You  certainly  look  well;  and  Janet,  you  have  grown 
so  beautiful!" 

"0  shame,  Marcus,  to  tell  such  stories!"' 

He  sat  down  by  the  blazing  hearth,  placed  a  chair 
near  him  and  motioned  Janet  to  take  it.  Then  they  sat 
for  some  time  looking  into  the  fire. 

4 'You  got  my  letters  that  I  wrote  after  leaving 
Hungerton?" 

"Yes," 

''Would  you  like  to  see  a  picture  nf  Alice?"  He  took 
it  from  his  pocket  and  handed  it  to  her. 

"It  agrees  with  my  mental  picture.  I  thought  she 
looked  like  that." 

Then  they  talked  for  some  time  about  his  experiences, 
and  the  affairs  at  home. 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  127 

"Who  was  that  man  Alice  was  about  to  marry?" 
asked  Janet. 

"Didn't  I  tell  you  his  name?  Let  me  see.  I've  nearly 
forgotten  it.  Oh,  yes,  it  was  Carlton,  George  Carlton,  I 
believe." 

"Why,  Marcus,  that  was  the  name  of  my— but  no,  it 
couldn't  be  the  same  man." 

"He  was  a  tall,  broad-shouldered,  black-haired  man. 
I  saw  him  only  once — in  the  church." 

"It  must  have  been.  I  heard  he  had  gone  in  the 
direction  of  Hungerton,  but,  but— how  strange!  The 
man  to  whom  I  was  once  engaged  answered  to  the  same 
name  and  description." 

"That  is  strange.  Could  it  have  heen  the  same  fel- 
low?" 

4  'But  that's  all  in  the  past,  and  I  don't  like  to  talk 
about  it,"  said  she. 

"Then  we  won't." 

"Tell  me  more  about  Alice. "  She  looked  again  at 
the  photograph.  He  drew  a  ring  from  his  pocket,  took 
her  hand,  and  tried  it  on  her  finger. 

"Does  it  fit?"  he  asked. 

"Exactly." 

"That  was  Alice's  ring." 

"And  do  you  want  me  to  wear  it?" 

"Alice  sent  it  to  you.  One  of  her  last  requests  was 
that  I  give  you  the  ring  with  her  love  and  blessing." 

"Thank  you.  Poor,  dear  Alice!  I  shall  wear  it  al- 
ways." 

"She  got  your  letter  as  I  told  you,  and  pondered  long 
over  it.  She  died  with  full  faith  in  the  Gospel  and  a  fair 


128  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

understanding  of  its  principles.  When  we  go  to  the  En- 
dowment House  we  must  do  her  work  for  her." 

"Yes,  certainly.     I  have  thought  of  the  same." 

Then  the  door  softly  opened  and  someone  stole  in 
and  placed  one  hand  over  each  of  their  eyes. 

''Guess  who  it  is." 

* 'Mother,"  exclaimed  both  at  once. 

"Then  don't  sit  the  fire  out,"  said  Sister  Harmon. 

A  bright,  sunshiny,  winter  morning  Marcus  and  Janet 
drove  to  town  in  the  sleigh,  and  spent  the  day  in  the  En- 
dowment House.  There  were  in  reality  two  marriage 
ceremonies  performed,  and  Marcus  King  got  two  wives  in 
one  day.  True,  one  of  those  wives  was  in  the  spirit 
world;  but  the  feeling  that  Alice  was  to  be  his  was  proved 
to  be  true.  His  prediction  was  fulfilled,  and  he  was 
serenely  happy  in  the  thought.  Janet  Harmon's  joy  was 
also  full,  for  had  she  not  done  a  sister's  part,  and  done  it 
well! 

And  now,  dear  reader,  if  you  have  been  patient  with 
me  thus  far,  I  must  tell  you  a  secret — a  secret  that  I 
have  been  tempted  more  than  once  to  betray,  but  which,  I 
think,  I  have  kept  pretty  well  until  now — and  that  is  that 
I,  Marcus  King,  have  personally  written  the  pages  of  this 
little  story.  I  began  this  writing  with  no  other  idea  than 
to  keep  the  narrative  in  the  third  person  until  the  end, 
but  as  I  progressed,  I  saw  that  if  I  did  so  one  of  the  chief 
results  to  be  attained  by  my  story  would  not  be  realized. 

Let  me  explain.  Shortly  after  I  joined  the  Church 
of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints  many  of  my  former 
friends  began  to  talk  disparagingly  of  me.  Some  criticised 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  129 

me  severely,  calling  me  a  turn- coat,  a  deserter  from  my 
father's  cause,  and  so  forth.  Some  of  my  readers  may 
remember  how  many  of  the  leading  religious  papers  of  the 
East  railed  against  me.  At  the  time  I  paid  no  attention 
to  it.  Lately  I  received  a  clipping  from  an  eastern  paper 
purporting  to  be  an  account  of  my  career.  Who  could  have 
invented  such  stuff,  I  cannot  conceive.  At  the  same  time 
I  have  received  a  number  of  letters  inquiring  about  me. 
Seemingly,  many  people  are  interested  in  me  and  my  do- 
ings, and  it  occurred  to  me  to  write  out  somewhat  of  my 
story  and  print  it.  Now  if  any  of  my  eastern  friends  care 
a  twenty-five  cent  piece  to  know  the  true  state  of  affairs, 
I  shall  be  pleased  to  mail  each  of  them  a  copy  of  my  book. 
So- much  for  preface,  sandwiched  in  here  at  the  wrong 
end. 

But  just  a  word  to  my  unbelieving  friends: 
Someone  has  said  that  the  glory  of  life  is  its  fulness. 
I  believe  that.  Had  I  remained  with  you  in  the  world,  I 
should  no  doubt  have  had  a  much  easier  time.  I  could 
have  lived  and  died  in  Hungerton,  respected  by  you  all. 
I  could  have  gone  my  daily  rounds  from  my  library  to  the 
church,  wanting  nothing  to  make  life  one  smooth,  pleas- 
ant journey — if  God  had  not  shown  me  the  little  pond  in 
which  I  was  playing,  the  frail  boat  in  which  I  was  sailing, 
and  then  the  mighty,  boundless  ocean  beyond  the  horizon 
of  my  limited  vision.  I  say  with  that  little  "if,"  I  could 
have  been  with  you  yet,  but  what  would  have  entered  into 
my  life  to  develop  it,  to  give  it  a  rounded  fulness!  Dear 
friends,  believe  me,  this  life  is  a  reality.  It  is  meant  to 
be  something.  We  are  here  to  do  and  not  merely  to  say, 
to'act  and  not  merely  to  believe.  To  be  good  and  true 
is  not  to  draw  a  long  face,  to  be  religious  is  not  to  be 


130  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

stupid;  but  I  have  already  expressed  myself  on  that  point 
to  one  of  your  members,  as  I  have  recorded  in  a  previous 
chapter. 

Again,  some  of  you  ha\e  impugned  my  motives.  My 
only  answer  to  that  is  in  my  story, 

And  now,  to  all  interested,  (and  I  hope  my  story  has 
been  of  interest  to  my  brethren  and  sisters  also)  I  am 
writing  these  last  pages  some  years  after  the  close  of  the 
events  narrated  in  the  first  part  of  this  chapter;  and 
as  I  look  back  on  those  few  intervening  years  I  will  tell 
you  what  I  know  of  my  (and  I  hope  of  our)  friends  who 
have  figured  thus  far  in  my  story. 

First,  I  must  tell  you  that  I  have  built  an  addition  to 
my  house.  It  is  of  brick  and  a  story  and  a  half  high.  I 
write  these  lines  by  an  open  upper  window,looking  out  west- 
ward toward  the  lake.  It  was  a  hard  blow  to  Brother 
Wood  to  think  that  his  house  wasn't  good  enongh  for  me, 
and  I  had  to  explain  to  him  that  a  bishop  needed  much 
room  to  entertain  all  his  visitors.  We  have  no  children 
yet,  and  I  could  not  use  the  argument  of  a  growing  fam- 
ily. I  shall  not  tear  down  the  log  house  until  Brother 
Wood  dies. 

I  have  corresponded  regularly  with  Alice's  parents, 
and  whenever  missionaries  have  visited  them  they  have 
been  kindly  treated.  It  was  just  last  month  that  I  re- 
ceived news  of  their  baptism.  Old  as  they  are,  they 
would  not  wait  longer,  and  now  they  are  anxious  to  come 
to  Utah;  but  IJiave  told  them  not  to  attempt  the  journey 
yet.  The  railroad  will  soon  be  finished,  and  then  they 
can  come  much  easier.  And  so  they  are  waiting. 

Henry  Sanford  was  the  same  staunch  friend  to  the 
Elders,  but  did  not  join  the  Church.  Noie  gave  them  a 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  131 

warmer  welcome  nor  defended  them  more  from  persecu- 
tion than  he.  When  the  war  broke  out,  he  joined  the 
army,  and  in  the  long,  hard  struggle  which  has  just  closed 
he  must  have  met  his  death.  I  have  not  heard  from 
him  since. 

Certainly  strange  things  happen.  Last  week  I  bap- 
tized Robert  James.  He  now  lives  here  in  Hernia,  and  is 
one  of  the  best  workers  in  the  ward.  He  wandered  about 
the  country  for  years,  but  he  acknowledges  to  me  that  he 
could  not  escape  from  Mormonism.  So  he  gave  it  up, 
humbled  himself,  and  came  back.  He  is  very  quiet  and 
unassuming,  but  everybody  knows  that  I  am  one  of  his 
converts.  So  they  respect  him,  and  he  is  now  the  hap- 
piest man  in  the  settlement. 

Mother  Harmon  died  a  year  ago. 

John  Dixon  is  a  prosperous  farmer.  His  barns  and 
granaries  are  growing.  They  need  to;  his  family  is  in  the 
same  condition. 

1  Hernia  is  prosperous.  The  people  give  the  credit  to 
the  Bishop,  but  the  Bishop  gives  it  to  his  wife,  and  his 
wife  to  the  Lord. 

Just  a  word  about  the  meetinghouse.  The  people 
finished  it  according  to  my  plans,  and  even  exceeded  them 
in  elegance.  The  trees  are  now  quite  large,  and  the  ivy  is 
creeping  up  the  walls  and  over  the  roof.  None  can  esti- 
mate the  refining  influence  that  house  has  had  on  our  peo- 
ple, and  especially  the  young  portion.  I  can  see  a  vast 
difference  between  our  young  folks  and  some  I  know  in 
the  neighboring  settlements. 

And  that  Mr.  Carlton — 

"Never  mind  that  Mr.  Carlton." 

It  was  Janet.     She  had  been  looking  over  my  shoul- 


132  MARCUS  KING,  MORMON. 

der,  and  if  there  is  anything  that  bothers  me,  it  is  that. 
I  might  have  been  vexed  with  her,  but  she  now  leaned 
over  so  far  that  her  cheek  touched  mine. 

"Well,  I'll  not  say  anything  about  him,  then/'  I 
said. 

4 'No;  don't." 

"Then  I  guess  I'd  better  write  The  End.'" 

"No,  not  yet.  I  think  you  have  to  either  make  a 
change  in  a  back  page  or  an  explanation  now." 

"What  do  you  mean?" 

Janet  picked  up  a  sheet  of  the  manuscript  and  read: 
"  %  Marcus  King,  have  personally  written  the  pages  of 
this  history/" 

''That's  wrong,  because  I  wrote  some  of  it,"  she 
said. 

I  stared  at  her,  not  knowing  what  she  meant.  Then 
she  looked  over  my  pile  of  papers  and  picked  out  some 
sheets  of  an  earlier  chapter  from  which  she  read  that 
Marcus  King  was  thought  of  as  having  "high  ideals," 
"nobility  of  character,"  and  so  forth.  I  took  the  sheets 
from  her,  and  there,  sure  enough,  was  her  handwriting 
for  a  page  or  more;  and  she  had  connected  the  thought  so 
nicely. 

"Well,"  said  I,  "it  would  have  been  foolish  of  Marcus 
King  to  have  said  that  about  himself." 

"But  it  is  true,"  said  my  wife,  "and  with  your  ex- 
planation it  may  stand." 

"I  put  the  leaves  back  in  their  place.  Janet  came 
around,  pushed  the  table  away  from  me,  and  sat  down  on 
my  knee. 

"Look  at  that  beautiful  sunset,"  she  said. 

We  do  have  grand  sunsets  at  Hernia.      I  cannot  con- 


MARCUS  KING,  MORMON.  133 

ceive  of  any  finer  even  in  Italian  skies.  There  was  a 
bank  of  heavy  pearl-white  clouds  in  the  west,  which 
formed  themselves  into  great  domes  and  high  mountains 
with  fathomless  chasms  between.  Then  the  edges  of  the 
upper  layers  were  tinged  with  pink  which  grew  to  a  shin- 
ing golden  red.  As  the  sun  sank  lower,  and  its  rays  got 
under  the  cloudland,  mountains  and  domes  turned  into  a 
brilliant  burning  red,  and  then  it  seemed  that  there  was 
another  world  out  in  space  being  consumed  with  fire.  The 
crimson  sun  dropped  down  behind  the  mountain,yet  the  sky 
was  all  ablaze. 

"What  do  you  think  of  it,  Janet?" 

4 It  is  grand,  it  is  grand!  I  think  it  is  a  faint  reflec- 
tion from  the  glory  of  God." 

THE    END. 


THE  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  SANTA  CRUZ 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  DATE  stamped  below. 


50m-l,'69(J5643s8)2373— 3A.1 


